Lady's Man
by LadyBonCena
Summary: Lady is a gal struggling with a life that's completely different from how she imagined it. When her good friend Shawn Michaels gets her a job with the WWE, could the true love of her life be right in front of her?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I don't know or own anyone associated with the WWE. I only own Lady.

_July 25, 2005_

She stands alone backstage mulling over the recent events of the evening.

Flashback

As usual she escorted Chris out to the ring... this time was different however, tonight wrestler Jericho was referee Jericho. She watches as Carcreepy um Carlito makes his way to the ring. _"Ugh!" _she thinks to herself as she rolls her eyes. _"Yes, soo cool... NOT!" _Now the music most in the audience have been waiting for! That hip-hop joint introducing Mr. You-can't-see-me Cena. She watches as he enters the ring and removes his shirt. _"DANG!" _she thinks trying to keep her eyes in her head. _"I may not like the guy's music or championship run, but one thing I can't deny... He's HOT!"_ The bell rings as the match gets underway. She laughs softly and thinks to herself; _"First time I've ever watched a match and been on the REF's side rather than either opponent." _Carlito and Cena give each other a decent back and forth match. She looks at Chris. He's doing his job like a ref should... but something just doesn't feel right. He's being a good boy... too good! Here it comes! "The Champ's" "five moves of doom." Nice little Carlito apple biting/spitting impersonation makes her grin. For some reason she finds herself enjoying seeing Carlito be hoisted up for the FU. Suddenly her enjoyment becomes _"I knew it!" _as Chris kicks the Champ downstairs. Carlito hits the ring floor. Chris hits Cena with a bulldog, then nails him with a lionsault (which she does think is a hot move!). Carlito lays on top of Cena, Chris counts to three, IT'S OVER! Now Carlito, the cruddy Intercontinental Champion gets a shot at the WWE Championship. She shakes her head in disbelief and disgust as Chris, Carlito and General Manager Bischoff celebrate. Normally she would be walking back up the ramp with Chris but she can't make herself now. She looks at Cena in the ring and thinks; _"I can't stay here with him!" _She hoists herself over the fan barrier and makes her way through the crowd back to the backstage area.

End flashback

She paces in circles. She turns and nearly slams her face into his fine chest. Startled she looks up into his icy-blue eyes. "What the hell happened to you out there?" asks Chris sternly.

"Well I could ask you the same thing!" she replies harshly. "Carlito now has a shot at the WWE title. Don't get me wrong, I'd totally enjoy seeing you kick his butt..." she pauses and sighs then says, "it's just I am looking forward to you versus Cena."

"Well Little Lady..." Chris says as he slides his arm around her shoulders, "consider what you just saw a little preview of what's to come." He walks away leaving her confused.

_August 1, 2005_

Lady watches a monitor backstage as Chris gloats about how his and Bischoff's plan to end Cena's reign is going "swimmingly." "So why aren't you out there with your boy Jericho?"

She looks up at "Young MCena" as Chris has just called him. "Because, as I'm sure you'll be happy to hear, I don't agree with his actions last week."

He flashes a cocky smile and asks, "So you thinkin' bout joining the Chain Gang, Little Lady?"

"Oh in your dreams!" she declares giving him a disgusted glare.

They both face the monitor as Chris has the footage from last week shown. Chris continues to call Cena names and make threats. "Alright, I've had enough of his mouth!" exclaims the Champ charging toward the ring.

"John no!" Lady yells running after him.

She stops outside the ring watching the two men brawl. It's cut very short, however, when Eric Bischoff comes out with security. After Chris and John are separated Chris exits the ring and goes to Bischoff's side. Bischoff yells at John, "Cena, damn you any way. If you want to raise hell and buck my authority. Your championship reign will come to an end tonight. There will be a special referee so you will not get disqualified or counted out. It will be someone who will call it right down the middle. That referee is Chris Jericho."

Lady is as shocked as John is at this announcement. She goes after Chris and Eric as they make their way backstage. "Wait!" she calls. "Didn't we go through this last week?"

"Are you undermining my authority now, Little Lady?" Eric asks her.

"No." she says softly. "It's just... well I mean we had Kane v. Edge matches three weeks in a row but they varied."

"You want a different match from last week." Chris states. "You'll get one."

She watches the men head to the Bischoffice. "Well I guess I better go get ready for my appearance ringside." She heads to the women's locker room.

She showers and twists her long, reddish-brown hair up and clips it with a gold clip at the back of her head. After doing her make up she decides on a wardrobe of low-rise blue jeans and a form-fitting green tee with the word "honey" in big yellow letters and a tiny bee across her adequate (and real) bosom. As she walks down the hall she glances into the Bischoffice and sees Chris talking to Carlito. She's really not sure she wants to escort Chris tonight even though she wants to be upfront watching the match. She tries to get past before they spot her. "Lady!" Chris calls.

She stiffly turns and steps just inside the doorway. "Yeah?"

Chris walks over, slips his arm around her tiny waist and pulls her inside. "You are gonna go out there with me later aren't you?"

"Yeah, sure." she says even though the situation is making her very uncomfortable.

She notices Carlito checking her out. "So Lady, or should I say Honey..."

"Finish that thought and you won't make it to the ring to face Cena!" she snarls.

"Ouch!" Chris says with a laugh.

"Ooh! Feisty, I like that!" says Carlito.

"Ugh!" She rolls her eyes as she walks out of the office.

She paces outside the ring. There's Bischoff; he and Chris are TOTALLY up to no good! _"Dang, Chris looks hot in those ref pants!" _she thinks to herself. _"AAH! Girl, focus!" _Here comes Carlito. _"I can't believe it, but I'm pulling for Cena to win tonight." _Here he comes... once inside the ring he attacks Chris for the second time this evening. Once the match gets underway it's nothing but a glorified handicap match. _"Well Chris did tell me it would be different from last week." _The double-teaming against John appalls her. Anytime Carlito pins John Chris counts quickly... fortunately John is able to get up before Chris makes it to three. John goes after Chris a couple more times during the match. Finally John gains control. He pins Carlito, but Chris stands in the corner refusing to count. "Oh dammit, Chris." she mutters, not for him to hear merely out of revulsion. John attacks Chris _again_, and this time she doesn't blame him! Carlito attacks John from behind. John still manages to have control over the situation. As Bischoff tries to interfere John knocks him off the apron _with _Chris! She laughs out loud. _"Now THAT was cool!" _she thinks to herself mocking Carlito Caribbean Cool. After knocking Chris out of the ring John gives Carlito the FU and pins him as another ref makes the three count. She can't help but smile! "Thank goodness Cena's still champ." she sighs. _"Did I really just say that?" _she thinks unable to believe how she went from not liking this guy at all to surprisingly siding with him. All of a sudden Chris runs past her and back into the ring. He for the second time in two weeks nails John with a low blow. John hits his knees. Chris knocks him out of the ring with a baseball slide. She starts to run toward Chris to try and stop him, but Lilian and Carlito pull her back. Chris has snapped! He rips the padding off the fan barrier and slams John's head into it. He picks John up and slams him into the floor with a suplex on the other side of the ring. "What the hell is he doing?" she asks in a soft stunned voice. Chris is attacking a cameraman! No... oh no! ""NO! AAAHH!!!" she screams as Chris slams the camera into John's head. She bolts to the ring post across from the men. She holds on to the post to steady herself, as she's numb from shock. Chris tosses the now bleeding John back into the ring and climbs in himself. He grabs John's legs. _"Here come the Walls." _she thinks. _"No not the Walls... nooo!"_ Chris nails John with a hangman on the bottom rope. NOW the Walls of Jericho. He holds John in the Walls while Bischoff slaps the champ hard several times across the face. Finally Chris turns John loose and exits the ring. She slowly gains composure of herself and crawls into the ring toward the injured John. Chris and Bischoff taunt the champ with his belt. As they head backstage... she pulls herself up behind John and pulls him back against her. She looks at his bloody face and whispers in his ear, "Oh God... they've gone too far!"


	2. Chapter 2

_August 8, 2005_

He knocks on the door, it opens.

"Hey Jericho. What's up?"

"Hey Shawn, just wondering if you've seen Lady."

"She told me she wouldn't be here till later. But she did say she needed to talk to you."

"Okay, thanks. See you later."

"Later." Shawn closes the door.

"Thanks for covering for me." she says.

"I didn't _totally _lie, you did say you needed to talk to him."

She sighs deeply. "I do! And I will as soon he's through sucking up to Bischoff on the Highlight Reel."

She picks up the coffee. "Coffee, right! That's all I need." She groans softly as she puts it back down.

"Hey!" his voice booms making her jump.

She turns. "What the heck are you doing here?!"

"Chill out, okay!" he says trying to calm her.

"No! I won't chill out. John, you're not supposed to be here. The doctors told you to take a week off" she insists out of both concern and aggravation.

"Look Lady, I don't have a concussion, and the cut's been taken care of. I appreciate your concern but for real, calm down."

She groans. "Fine! I know why you don't have a concussion, cause you're hardheaded."

He laughs. They start to walk down the hall. "You talked to Jericho yet?"

"Nope. I'm surprised he's not back here yet. The Highlight Reel should be over by na... oh ... my gosh!" As she glances into the Bischoffice she sees what's happening on the monitor.

"What?" He follows her stare. Chris has the referee that made the three count last week in the Walls, and Bischoff is slapping the hell out of the poor guy. They both run out to the ring area. John rushes in and attacks Chris. Bischoff runs (surprise surprise)! Carlito attacks John and gets an FU, which John dedicates to Chris, for his troubles.

He comes out of the men's locker room and heads for the Bischoffice. She spots him. He's looking so HOT in those jeans, with that tan button-down shirt only held together by the last 2 buttons. _"DAMMIT GIRL! Focus!" _she thinks scolding herself. Taking a deep breath she walks toward him. "Chris!"

He turns and peers at her over his sunglasses. "What's up, Little Lady?"

"Oh don't give me that! You know exactly what's up!" she yells drawing attention to them.

He takes hold of her arm and leads her into the office, which is currently empty. "Oh, I see, you've been hanging out with Young MCena again."

"No, I've not been hanging out with John. Actually I've been with Chad Patton, ya know the little referee you and Bitchoff you were torturing. I wanted to make sure the guy was okay." She pauses. She looks away and taps her index finger on her chin. "Hmm... kinda like what I was doing last week when I helped tend to 'Young MCena' after your vicious attack on him." she says sarcastically.

He pushes his shades to the top of his head and looks into her greenish-blue eyes. "Look Lady, I'll do whatever it takes to win. And your job is to support me." he says aggressively.

She's taken aback by his tone and the seriousness of his words! "Ohh.. haha! My job is to..." She laughs and shakes head then gives him an assertive stare. "Listen, Y2JERK!..." He's stunned by her strong reaction. "I came here because Shawn knew I needed a job and talked to Vince. Aside from being Shawn's valet and helping the medics when someone gets hurt, I was given the _choice _of which other superstars to valet." Softly she asks, "Wanna know why I chose you?" She walks slowly back and forth while continuing, "Now I admit that I missed all the milestones you reached, that was during a time I had too many other things going on to pay attention to wrestling." She stands still and looks at him. "I chose to work with you based, not only on hearing about all of your accomplishments, but from what I had seen myself." She steps closer to him. "You're an amazing athlete. But I also chose you cause I thought you were a great guy. You've been nothing but a sweetheart to me." She nibbles her lower lip and giggles quietly. "Remember how I sided with Christian and Tomko when Bischoff teamed you with John against them?"

Chris laughs. "Yeah, that was a shocker."

"Yeah. I mean Christian bugged the heck outta me. Remember how excited I got when you attacked John after y'all won?" Chris smiles. "I thought that this Marky Mark wannabe was soo annoying! I even sided with you, Christian, and Tomko. I chose you over Shawn, a longtime friend, when he decided to team up with John."

Chris takes a deep breath and looks at her. "Seems like we're on the same page, Lady."

"Na... not entirely. What the hell was with those attacks on John? I mean I understand you want to win, but do you have be such a bastard to do it?"

He takes her hands and pulls her closer. "I'm sorry, Lady, you're just going to have to try and understand."

She looks into his icy-blue eyes, a strange power seemingly paralyzing her. "I don't think I..." He places his finger on her lips to quiet her. Her mind tells her, "This can't be happening." But it is, he leans down and gently presses his lips to hers. The room starts spinning.

Eric has just walked in. "Ahem." Chris pulls away from her. The vision of Chris wiping her lipstick off himself brings her back to reality. "Am I interrupting something?" asks Eric.

"I... I.. have to go... find Shawn." she stammers. "Excuse me." She runs/stumbles out of the office. She leans against the wall trying to settle her spinning mind.

"What... _the hell... _just happened?" she wonders aloud.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: The disease talked about in this chapter is very real and I personally suffer from it.

_August 8 continued_

As they make their way through the backstage area Shawn asks, "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" she asks coming out of her daze.

"This is what I'm talking about." He puts his hands on her shoulders and looks into her eyes. "You're off in another world. You barely flinched when I super-kicked Lawler. What's wrong?"

She's sighs heavily. "It's... Earlier my talk with Jericho." She slips away from Shawn's grasp. "I don't get it. Both of you are 'bad guys." she makes quotation marks with her hands. "Why am I not upset with you?"

He laughs. "You're really in denial, Little Lady."

"Denial? Of what?" she inquires with a puzzled look on her face.

"Well you're not upset with me over my feud with Hogan because... well you don't have a crush on him."

"Oh YUCK! Of course I don't!" She gets wide-eyed. "You are NOT suggesting I have a crush on Cena?"

"I'm not suggesting it; I'm flat out saying it."

"You're crazy!" she insists. "I sooo do NOT have a crush on Cena!"

Shawn shakes his head. "Keep telling yourself that." He heads toward the locker room.

She calls after him, "You're WRONG!" She mumbles to herself, "I do NOT have a crush on Cena." Just then _he_ comes out of the locker room. She gazes at him. "I don't like him!... Do I?" she questioned herself.

_August 15, 2005 in Montreal _

"I will admit _I_ fell for the Bret Hart video, but I can't believe you fooled the crowd twice." She laughs as she and Shawn walk backstage after his speech.

"I was a bit surprised myself when they fell for the Hogan video."

She stops just a few feet away from the Bischoffice. "So what you gonna do about the handicap match?" he asks.

"Honestly, I'm not sure." she says. "I wanna be out there, but don't know if I want to be on the anti-Chain gang gang."

"Just do what you feel's right." he urges patting her on the back before walking away.

She groans and sighs. "I should go see what they're up to." She heads toward the office. She overhears Bischoff telling Chris and Carlito his ridiculous plan to get cheers by carrying out the Canadian flag. She steps inside. "You guys are nuts!" she proclaims. All three men turn toward her and stare wide-eyed and mouths agape. "Wha..." she wonders then looks at down at her outfit of low-cut white and pink tank top and white Daisy Dukes. She rolls her eyes. "Mouths closed and eyes back in your heads, fellas."

The men all murmur apologies for their immaturity.

"So Lady..." Chris stretches out his arms for a hug. Still wondering what their kiss was about, she walks to him--feeling uneasy. He gently squeezes her tiny frame. "You not liking Mr. Bischoff's idea?"

"I just say be yourself. If someone likes you they do, if they don't they don't." She looks sharply at Eric. "Besides, if you really think Cena's such a phony why try so hard to make yourself look better than him?"

Taken aback by her assertiveness Eric's only response is, "I think we need to get ready to head out there."

"You are coming aren't you, Lady?" Chris asks gazing into her eyes.

Suddenly she realizes this whole thing is a mind game. _"Starting with that kiss! He's trying to insure I'm on his side!"_ she thinks. Finally she says, "I'll be out there, I just gotta go touch up my makeup."

Chris gives her that sexy, half smile. "You're beautiful enough the way you are."

"Thanks!" she says sliding out of his loose embrace. "I'll see you fellas in a bit." She walks out the door. She laughs quietly and thinks to herself, _"There is NO way I'm going to make this four against one."_

As the men are about to head out to ringside Chris looks around. "Lady should be back by now."

"Should we wait for her?" asks Carlito.

Bischoff's music starts. "There's no time. She'll just have to come out on her own."

The men make their way to the ring with Bischoff waving the Canadian flag. Once to the ring Chris turns and sees Lady making her way toward them. She has a sexy smile on her face. As she makes her way closer Chris reaches out to her. She acts as if she's going to walk into his arms but stops... She looks at him as if to say "I don't think so, buddy.," does a little step turn and goes to the side of the ring.

Chris, Eric and Carlito all look at her and then at each other questioningly.

John makes his way to the ring. She gazes at him and thinks, _"I don't care what Shawn says, I do NOT like this guy. I just feel for him cause I don't like the way he's being treated."_

Chris and Carlito work John over good, but he gives as good as he gets.

At one point Eric grabs John's leg. John exits the ring and grabs him, but Chris hits John with a baseball slide. Then Chris slams John's head onto the rail. He holds John as Eric slaps him across the face. These actions appall Lady, but all she can do is stand back and watch.

At one point Carlito plants John with a spine-buster and pins him... Lady holds her breath... 1, 2 KICKOUT! She exhales!

Carlito tags Chris and holds John in place while Chris lands a dropkick from the top rope.

Chris starts to choke John on the bottom rope! "NO!" she cries! She can't hold herself back any longer! She runs to the apron, and starts pulling at the rope to try to relieve the pressure on John. Carlito pushes her aside and spits apple in John's face. Enraged and sickened she slaps Carlito _hard _across the face completely surprising him. Just then she sees Eric slap John! Before she can respond John is up and starts to throw on Chris! Chris tries to get John into the Walls of Jericho but John pushes him off and he smacks into Carlito. She laughs at the sight. After some crazy back and forth action among the three men John gets Chris up for the FU. Carlito throws Chris legs, and Chris lands on the apron. As John lifts Carlito for the FU Chris leaves the apron. John plants Carlito and gets the three-count.

Directly afterwards Chris returns to the ring with a steel chair. "Chris DON'T!" Lady pleads to no avail. He cracks John across the face!

She rushes inside the ring and to John's side. His eyes lifelessly staring at the ceiling. "John?" She gets no response. Incensed she rolls out of the ring and grabs the very chair Chris has just dropped! She starts to charge at Chris as he's heading up the ramp! Carlito grabs her from behind! "AAH!" she screams. Eric rips the chair away from her.

She struggles to free herself from Carlito's grip. "Let her go!" Chris commands not realizing what just transpired. "Lady, what...?" he can't finish the thought before her hand strikes squarely against his face. She climbs back in the ring to tend to John as the other three men head backstage astounded.

After several moments John starts coming around. Some referees try to help him to his feet. "I don't need any help!" he contends staggering to his feet. He heads backstage angry. She runs after him. "JOHN, John..." she grabs his arm to stop him. "Calm down!" she beseeches.

"You expect to calm down with all Bischoff and his ass kissers have been doin'?!"

"Save it for SummerSlam! Okay? Besides, I've got a bone to pick with Jericho myself. So just please go to the trainers and let someone check you out."

"I'm fine!" he insists.

"Humor me, please!" she requests.  
He groans. "Fine!" She watches him as he walks away to make sure he really does go to the trainers.

She goes to the Bischoffice. "Lady, what the hell was with slapping me out there?!" Chris demands.

"And me?" inquires Carlito.

She rolls her eyes at Carlito's question. Then looks at Chris. "What the hell was with nailing John with that chair?!"

"I don't recall you being upset with me when I took a chair into the ring during John boy's lumberjack match with Snitsky."

She's befuddled for a moment because... well he's right. "Okay, that was different." she begins. "That was a specialty match where those kind of things were allowed. All of this stuff over the last four weeks has been..."

"Perfectly okay." Eric cuts her off. "Have you forgotten who runs this show, Little Lady?" he asks staring at her with an arrogant smile on his face.

"Why do you hate him so much?" she asks Eric.

"Why are you suddenly his biggest fan?!" questions Chris.  
"I'm _not_!" she exclaims.

Chris steps toward her and places his hand on the back of her head. He gazes deeply into her eyes. "Whose side are you on, Lady?" he asks in a sexy tone.  
"I'm not falling for this again." She jerks away from him. "Stop screwing with my head!" she yells at Chris. She looks at Eric and Carlito. "And you two... UGH!" she groans before leaving this office.

"Hey." she mutters.

"Hey." John replies.

She looks around the clinic room and realizes they're the only people in there. "Did someone check you out?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I told you that."

"Yeah, I know. It's like I said you're hardheaded." Suddenly there's a stabbing/burning pain in the top of her head, and it feels as if someone has grabbed onto the back of her neck. She cries out in pain, grabbing the top of her head with one hand and back of her neck with the other.

"Lady?!" John hops off the table and she falls against him. Gently he lifts her onto the table. "I'm gonna go find someone for you, okay."

"No!" She grasps his arm to keep him from leaving. "Aah!" She forces herself to breathe through the pain. She pants when it eases up for a second. "I just have to let it run it course." she states. "AAH!" She gasps for breath.

He gently squeezes her hand as if to remind her he's there. Finally it passes. She takes a deep breath and sighs. "There! It's gone now!"

"You okay? What the heck just happened here?" John wonders.

She looks into his eyes and sees real concern. "I have a disease. It's not something that can kill me; it's just a very, _very _big nuisance sometimes."

"What is it?" he inquires curiously.

"It's called Fibromyalgia. Loosely defined, it's a chronic pain and fatigue disorder. Truth is it's _much _more complicated than that." She takes a deep breath before continuing, "It's pain, any kind: muscle or joint. Dull, sharp, shooting, stabbing or throbbing. You can have a dull ache or feel as if you're being ripped apart. Some days I have no pain and don't have to take any medicine. Then other days I am looking at the clock wishing the four hours was up so I can take another dose. Sometimes the fatigue is so bad that I can't speak or get out of bed without help. Movements that should be INvoluntary I have to consciously make myself do. One minute I can feel fine the next my hands or feet will be numb, cold or burning. Sometimes my nerves freak out and I feel like my skin is crawling, I can't stand to touch anything or be touched." Her eyes begin to tear up and she laughs softly. "Mood swings! Another lovely part of it." She swallows hard as the urge to cry passes as suddenly as it came.  
"Damn!" he proclaims. "Sounds like hell."

"It can be. What's really hell is being sick and not knowing why. I went years thinking I was going crazy. Every thyroid panel and allergy screening came back normal."

"When did this start?"

"Honestly? Some of the problems started when I was a child. That was when it seemed like I was allergic to almost everything. It turns out odor and chemical sensitivities are a part of it. It's not unusual at all for me to have a sore throat, stuffy nose and swollen glands. Things have gotten worse the last few years though. We even suspected I had Lupus. I wasn't as scared by the thought of that as most people probably get. I wasn't worried so much about 'can I die from what I have?' as much as 'what the hell is wrong with me?' When I was finally sent to a specialist... I left his office saying that I hoped he would find something wrong with me!"

"What do you do for it?"

"I take a muscle relaxer at bedtime and occasionally during the day if I need it, a mild painkiller for whenever I need it. And weekly B12 injections for my nerves. I also do moderate exercise. I just have to listen to my body and not overdo. What you just witnessed is something that happens frequently. They're called attacks. One can last for me personally, anywhere from a few seconds to nearly two weeks."

"Whoa! Sorry you gotta go through this."

"Thanks for the concern. Really though I don't like to use it as an excuse... sometimes though..." she sighs not really sure how to finish the thought.

"Lemme ask is this why you only work on Monday nights?" John questions.

"Yeah! Traveling is not easy on me. There's only certain things I can do, and the job market sucks back home... So Shawn thought this up, and I thought it would be cool." she laughs. "

And here I am!"

"Jericho and Bischoff know about this?"

"Yeah! They know all about it!" she pauses for a moment. "I think I might have screwed myself by telling them I wanted to be treated like anybody else."  
"How so?"

She groans! "Stress! Stress makes the flare ups worse. And with all their craziness..."  
He can see her tense up and takes her face in his hands. "Lady, don't let them get to you! It's obvious they don't respect you, they're not worth making yourself sick over."  
"Thanks!" she says with a smile as she hugs him.

"You're welcome." he replies lightly putting his arms around her, surprised by her action.

Looking into his eyes she feels even more drawn to him. Unexpectedly she meets her lips to his. For a second he's stunned, then begins to return the kiss. As he starts to hug her tighter she breaks the kiss. She stares at him astonished by what she's just done.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: My apologies for lengthiness. I didn't realize how wordy I was getting on some of these chapters so I'm trying to edit them down as much as I can.

_August 21, 2005 SummerSlam_

"Hey Lady, where's your bikini?" asks Stacy.

"I'm not gonna be in the carwash segment." Lady states. "No offense, but it's just not something I'm comfortable with and Mr. McMahon respects that."

"That's cool!" She notices how Lady seems off in another world. "Are you okay?"

"What? Oh yeah, I'm fine." Lady stammers.

Flashback

She feels his arms tighten around her. She pulls her lips away from his and stares at him. What the heck has she just done? Before the incident has time to sink in, "Lady, are you in here?" Stacy calls. They turn loose of each other. "Oh hi John."

"Hey Stacy." he mutters.

"Everything okay here?" Stacy quizzes.

"Yeah, fine!" Lady claims.

"Well the girls and I were wondering if you wanted to go out dancing with us."

"Sure! That sounds great!" Lady hops off the table. "Um-just lemme go get my things." She turns slightly toward John. "Bye."

"See ya." he replies.

End flashback

Stacy looks at her inquisitively. "Is there something going on between you and John?"

"WHAT?!" Lady freaks out! "NO! Gosh, no. Why would you ask that?"

"It's pretty obvious from the way you look at him that you have a crush."

"I do NOT have a crush on John. He... he's hot... way hot! You have to be blind not to see that, but I don't have a crush!" Lady insists.

"Good." Stacy responds. "I've dated wrestlers before; it's not a good idea to get romantic with someone you work with."

"I got it, Stacy! I'm not gonna hook up with John." Lady asserts. "Don't you have a limo to go wash?"

Stacy laughs. "Yeah. I'll see you later." she says walking out of the room.

"Later." She sighs heavily. "Okay, you can do this." She feels her legs start to tingle... "Oh don't do this now! I can do this! I ... can!" Finally she heads out the door.

She gets herself a bottle of water for her parched throat. As she tries to open it her wrist starts twitching. "Stop it!" she demands through clenched teeth. The twitching stops and she takes a big gulp of water. She looks toward his door. "I can do this!" She clears her throat and heads for the door.

Once there she knocks firmly. "Come in." he calls.

She reaches for the doorknob with her right hand, it goes numb. Her left wrist starts twitching again causing her to drop the bottle of water. "Oh not now!" she whines quietly stooping down to pick up the bottle.

The door opens. "Lady?"

She looks up at him. "Hey John." she replies, slowly standing back up.

"I didn't expect you to be here tonight. Come on in." he says stepping aside.

Sheepishly she steps inside. "Um, it actually wasn't decided till a couple days ago that I would be here. Come on, Shawn and Hogan? How could I miss that?" she says with a smile.

"Oh so you're gonna be at ringside when Shawn gets his ass kicked by the Hulkster." John states.

She scoffs lightheartedly. "Well I'm hoping it'll be the other way around but... yeah I'm gonna be at ringside."

She sees the WWE title draped across the arm of a big chair. She sits down and nervously plays with the spinner. Accidentally, she knocks the belt off the chair. She and John both reach for it at the same time, and her hand brushes his. She jerks away as he picks up the belt. "Oh dammit I said I could do this!" she groans. "Look John, I ... I wanted to talk to you about... that ... kiss." she stammers, finally forcing herself to look at him.

"Lady, it's okay." he assures her. "I hope you didn't think I was trying to get any farther than that."

"No! I'm not upset with you, _I _kissed you first." she persists. "It just... was so TOTALLY unexpected. I just... finally realized you're not such a bad guy." They both laugh. "I ... Friends?" she asks.

"Friends." he affirms. "It's best not to mix business with pleasure anyways."

"Good. Now that I finally got that outta the way." She looks at the WWE title. "Shawn and Hogan aren't the only reason I'm here. You and Chris one on one, at last..." she begins. "Until last week there was a part of me still wanting Chris to win tonight."

"And now?" John asks.

"Would it be okay with you if I were your valet tonight?"

"Yeah, that'd be great. Are you sure?"

She hesitates before answering, "Yeah, I'm sure. Chris just became this ... crazy man! I can appreciate having a goal... I can't respect being vicious toward another person to reach that goal. I know that it's wrestling and that in itself is not a pretty thing. But ... he just delivered too many cheap shots to you."

"Oh so Chris just had to hit _me _over the head in order to knock some sense into _you_." John jokes.

She laughs." Yeah, something like that."

"You're a tough, little gal with a big heart. Nice combo, I got a lot of respect for that."

"Thanks." she says trying not to blush. "And I'm not a little gal; I'm Little Lady." she proclaims teasingly.

"Ya know, it just dawned on me. I don't know your real name."

"Yes you do."

"Lady?" he asks looking at her skeptically.  
"Um uh."

"For real?"  
"Yeah. Lady Jane Davis." She holds her hand. "Nice to meet you."

He laughs and shakes her hand. "Nice to meet you, Lady. Any reason your folks named you 'Lady'?"

"They wanted something cute and unique. There were times when I _hated _it, but now I think it's cool." She glances at a clock on the wall. "You need to finish getting ready. I'll see you in a few." she says standing.  
"Okay. You're really sure you want to do this?" he asks again.

Again she hesitates. "Yeah." she replies faintly before walking out of the room.

She waits until she knows Chris is his way to the ring before stepping into the gorilla position. John takes his place beside her, awaiting his cue. He watches her nervously tap her long nails against her teeth and twirl her hair. Chris' music is still playing. "Lady, you can go on out there if you want." John tells her.

She looks up at him. "No." John's music starts. She hooks her arm around his and smiles. "Let's do this." She has the same confidence she had the previous Monday, when teasing Chris into thinking she was on his side... Until she sees the look of disappointment on Chris' face. Her smile disappears as she and John make their way to the ring. John holds the ropes apart for her to enter. As John interacts with the crowd, she walks over to Chris. "I'm sorry." she says. He refuses to look at her. She walks back over to John's side of the ring and climbs out as the bell rings.

She walks around the ring following the action. Chris gets John down and kicks him around on the mat. Chris slaps John into the ropes and then hits a spinning heel kick. Chris goes for his springboard dropkick but John ducks and Chris crashes to the floor. She goes to check on him but he rebuffs her.

John tosses Chris back inside and hits an elbow in the corner and then sends Chris headfirst into the buckle. Lady flinches at the sight. Chris hits a vertical suplex. He covers John...Lady holds her breath... 1, 2 KICKOUT! She exhales! Chris then hits a baseball slide dropkick and locks in a rear chin lock. The men trade right hands and then Chris tosses John through the ropes to the outside. As Lady starts to go to John, Chris hits a dropkick off the apron onto him. Chris then grabs a cable and starts choking John with it. "Chris NO!" she screams. She struggles with Chris, trying to remove the cable from John's neck. Chris turns loose of the cable, then tosses John back into the ring.

Chris manages to pin John for a couple more two-counts. He attempts to lock in the Walls of Jericho, but John kicks him off causing him to crash to the outside. Lady starts to go to him but doesn't want to be brushed off again.

As he tries to re-enter the ring John goes up top and hits a leg-drop on the back of Chris' head. John covers but Chris gets his foot on the ropes. John attempts the FU but Chris counters with a DDT. Chris chokes John over the ropes causing Lady to become upset. John goes for the Five-Knuckle Shuffle, but Chris moves and locks in the Walls of Jericho! John writhes in pain as he tries to fight to the ropes, but Chris pulls him back to the middle of the ring. "John come on!" Lady encourages, pushing the ropes in toward him as much as she can. Finally he makes it. She smiles in relief until Chris stomps John. Chris charges at John, but John catches him on his shoulders and hits the FU for the win!

Excitedly Lady climbs in the ring. Her excitement changes to sadness as she looks down at Chris. As he gets up to leave the ring she reaches out to him, but again he rejects her. Her heart sinks as she watches him walk backstage. At the same time she looks at John and feels joy for his victory.

_August 22, 2005_

She rubs the back of her neck. "You okay, Lady?" Shawn asks.

"Just a bit of a headache." she replies.

"Did you take your medicine?"

"Yes! I've had everything."

"Maybe you should just rest for the rest of the evening."

"No. I'm interested to see the fallout of John's win from last night. I'm gonna head to the office."

"I'm not sure that's such a good idea. But I know better than to argue with you." states Shawn.

"Yes you do." she laughs.

"Promise if you feel any worse you'll go lie down."  
"I promise." she claims.

As she gets just outside the office door she hears Eric say, "... a 'you're fired' match."

She steps inside. "A what?"

"A 'you're fired' match, Lady." Eric proclaims staring her down. "You see since your boyfriend John got lucky and beat Chris last night, I'm giving Chris a rematch."

"John is NOT my boyfriend." she replies not sure where this is going.

"Well whatever he is kiss him goodbye." states Eric.

She looks at Chris who says, "You see Lady after I beat John tonight, he's done! Not only will he lose the WWE title but also his job."

She is completely flabbergasted by what they are telling her. "You... you two CAN'T be serious."

"Oh I'm very serious, Lady." Eric affirms before walking out of the office.

"Chris..." She looks at him with pleading eyes. "Don't do this. I mean a rematch, okay I understand. But to want John to lose his job. To risk your own job."

"So you don't think I CAN beat Cena!" Chris accuses.

"That's not what I said!" she defends herself. "Chris don't let Bischoff do this. You've done a lot of things I disagree with lately, but deep down I know you're a good guy. You're also a smart guy." She gently touches his face to make him look at her. "If.. IF" she begins trying not to anger him. "...John does get lucky again I don't trust Bischoff to not punish _you._ And I don't believe you really want John to lose his job."

"Lady, the decision's already been made." Chris states.

"Okay fine. Great! You should be happy that you sorta got what you wanted in that I won't be supporting John tonight. But I'm not gonna be on your side either."

He sees the hurt in her eyes. "I don't expect to take sides." he claims, surprising her.

"_Oh no, he's going to play with my head again." _she thinks to herself. She looks into his eyes. _"No, he's serious."_

"I'm sorry, Lady." he begins. "For the mind games. You have every right to side with whoever you want. I can't feel betrayed by you just cause you were being yourself."

She smiles. "Apology accepted."

He stretches out his arms. "Come here." She walks into his arms. He kisses the top of her head. "Are you okay?" he asks looking down at her.

"Yeah. I'm just tired and got a bit of a headache."

"Maybe you should go rest." he suggests.

"I've already had this conversation with Shawn. Even though I won't take sides tonight, I do want to be out there for your match. But I think I will go and rest till then. So see you then."

After leaving the office she turns the corner and walks right into John. "Whoa! Hey Lady, what's up?"  
"What's up? Oh either your or Chris' job."

"Lady, don't worry! I'm not gonna let them get this title. And Chris is Bischoff's boy, he's not gonna fire him."

"John, I could NOT stand you. I never expected to be hanging out with you, taking your side." She mumbles, "Kissing you." In a normal tone she says, "My point is that things can change. Bischoff may see Chris as his boy for now... but that could change."

Lady stares at Chris and Eric as they chat in the ring. She feels exhausted and the tension of this match isn't helping matters. Once John enters the ring he and Chris stand face to face and butt heads until Chris slaps John. Lady can't bare the thought of either man winning but knows someone must. Chris works John to the corner where he chops away on his chest before stomping on him and choking him with the boot. This sight sickens Lady. John is whipped to the corner but he moves as Chris flies at him and Chris nails the post and falls to the outside. Lady and Eric attend to him but John comes out and grabs him to throw him back in the ring. Eric kicks John as he tries to re-enter the ring. Lady tries to stop John but her goes and grabs Eric but Eric hits a low blow on him! Chris comes out and removes some of the security rail to smash John's head off. "Oh no!" she whimpers but doesn't interfere. Chris throws John back in and chokes him over the ropes as Eric slaps him. Chris then slams John's head off the mat several times, reminding Lady of her own headache. Chris hits a spinning heel kick for 1...2... John kicks out! Chris chokes John with his boot illegally as he talks to the referee. "What the hell?!" Lady thinks surprised by this sight. John gets an inside cradle for another near fall. Chris then works John to the corner and places him on the top rope! Chris goes up with him and goes for the superplex but John blocks it and flapjacks Chris on his face! Lady flinches. John goes for a flying cross body. Chris ducks causing John to crash and burn. Lady jumps. She can't stand watching this but can't turn herself away. Chris drops an elbow to John's lower back and he uses the ropes for the pin but the referee catches him. John goes for the FU! Chris clubs him and gets out with a roll up that he changes into the walls of Jericho! John is in pain and he cannot reach the ropes as Eric pulls them away! Chris pulls John back to the middle of the ring. John is in so much pain as Chris has the hold on a lock down. He uses everything he has to crawl to the ropes once more. He finally makes it! Chris is upset and argues with the ref but he turns around right into the FU! John's legs give out on him and he has trouble holding Chris. He gives it all his might and plants Chris but he falls and can't make a quick pin. He finally covers Jericho but at two, Eric places Chris' foot on the ropes! _"What the...?" _Lady sees Eric place something in Chris' hand. "Oh my gosh!" It's brass knuckles. John goes to pick up Chris but Chris clocks him with the knucks. Chris is slow to cover but he does.. 1...2.. John kicks out! Chris covers again but again John kicks out. Eric gets on the apron with the WWE title and the ref fights with him. John and Chris battle, John sweeps Chris' legs and gives him a slingshot right into Eric! Lady cracks up at the spectacle. John then catches Chris and plants him with the FU for the three-count.

Lady climbs in the ring. Both men are still down from their hellacious battle. Since she's standing closest to John she checks on him first. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." he responds, wincing.

Eric gets in the ring and tells Chris, "You son of a bitch, you're fired! You had a job to do and you didn't get it done!"

Even though she was expecting this Lady is still taken aback by the ferocity of Eric's words.

Chris pleads with Eric not to fire him but Eric has security carry him out of the building.

As John begins to argue with Eric, Kurt Angle rushes past Lady and attacks John from behind. Eric reaches for Lady as he starts to exit the ring but she pulls away and tries to go to John. The ref pushes her back for her safety. She watches as Kurt beats the hell out of John, eventually hitting the Angle slam. Kurt gets on his knees and screams to the sky.

Eric comes back in the ring and tells John, "Hey Cena! Say hello to the number one contender for your WWE title, Kurt Angle!"

Kurt slaps John around and rips at his face. As John tries to reach the title belt Kurt picks it up looks at it before finally leaving the ring. He and Eric look at John with sinister smiles on their faces.

Lady goes to John's side. _"That does it!" _She thinks to herself. _"I'm not going to be the girl who just stands around watching all hell break loose anymore."  
_


	5. Chapter 5

_August 29,2005_

She watches as Shawn climbs into the ring as guest on Carlito's Cabana. Carlito says that before they get started he has a question for Little Lady. Shawn looks at her curiously as she looks at Carlito the same way. She goes up the ring stairs and steps through the ropes. Gingerly she walks toward the men. Shawn hands her his microphone. She stares Carlito down. "What?!"

"I have a business proposition for you." declares Carlito.

"Oh really?"

"Yes. You see I know that you only came out here tonight as HBK's valet but... for several months you were also Chris Jericho's valet." Lady nods, wondering where he's going with this. "You always came out with him when he did his Highlight Reel. You were the Hottie of the Highlight Reel."

She raises an eyebrow; she'd never been called that before but... "Okay."

"So, Carlito was wondering if in the future you would be the 'Cutie of the Cabana'."

For a moment she's silent and then..."HAHAHA!" She looks at him and shakes her head. "Do you wash the apples before you eat them?" Carlito is dumbfounded by her reaction. "You... you really think this..." She looks around at the set. "Crappy shack can compare to the Highlight Reel?" Carlito nods superciliously. "You are NOTHING compared to Chris Jericho. He's ten times the talk show host than you can even DREAM of being. It's not YOU that makes your little show any good. It's guests like Shawn here and even though I've never been a fan, Ric Flair last week. So in case you're not seeing where this is going, I'll cut to the chase. NO, I will NOT be the 'Cutie of the Cabana'." She rolls her eyes, hands Shawn the mic, and exits the ring.

Later backstage she ponders the crazy events of the evening. Flair attacked; Matt and Edge nearly tearing down the house. Geez, it's been a wild night! She takes a sip of water. "Well hey Little Lady." Startled she splashes water on the bottom of her vintage Bon Jovi tee.

"_Oh great, Masters!" _she thinks. Chris Masters aka The Masterpiece, or as she liked to refer to him the MasterJerk or MasterJoke. She'd noticed him ogling her when he joined Shawn on the Cabana, as Carlito's other guest. Well, in between fighting Shawn and Flair that is. She turns to face him. "What do you want?"

"Can't a gorgeous guy just say hi to gorgeous girl?" He stares at her ample chest and reads her shirt. "Slippery When Wet, huh?" He takes the bottle of water away from her. Her mood starts changing from annoyed to apprehensive. "Let's make that a true statement shall we?"

She's frozen in shock as he acts as if he's about to pour the water on her. "Hey man, back off the Lady!" demands a very familiar and at the moment comforting voice.

"Just having a little fun man, no problem!" Masters says. He sits the water down on the table and walks away.

She's visibly shaken. John gently brushes her hair over her shoulder and strokes the side of her neck. "Are you okay?" he asks with real concern in his voice. He's not sure why but he feels the need to protect her.

"Yeah." she breathes. As she's raising her head to look at him she notices he's looking _fine _in an unbuttoned baseball jersey. Try as she might to avoid it she grows wide-eyed. He tries not to laugh at her reaction. "Um chan... channeling Jericho?" she asks finally looking up into his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"It's just uh; unbuttoned shirts were usually his thing. Anyways, thanks for rescuing me from the MasterJerk."

"No prob! I was looking for you anyways. I want you to come out to the ring with me."

"You don't have a match tonight."

"Not scheduled no, but you think I'm gonna let Angle get away with what he did last week?"

She runs her hands through her hair and laughs. "July 11th."

"What?"

"July 11th." She recalls, "You went out to the ring and called out Jericho. Bischoff went out and y'all had words. Then when Chris and I walked out Bischoff told him not to come down to the ring and announced the match for SummerSlam. Then you FUed Bischoff. At the time I could not WAIT to see you punished for that but now I'd like to see it again. However, he's a bit busy with the Matt/Edge drama right now."

"I'm going out there whether or not you come with me. Just thought it'd be kinda cool since now you're on my side."

She smiles thoughtfully. "Sure why not? I don't have anything to do till Shawn's match anyways."

"Let's go." he says swinging he large arm around her tiny frame.

Her reflex is to put her lean arm around his broad waist. _"Shawn and Stacy are right!" _she admits quietly to herself. She looks up at him. _"I am crushing on John." _

They make their way to the ring. The crowd goes wild. John takes her hand as she walks up the ring steps. He stops her before she climbs through the ropes. He slides into the ring and lifts her over the top rope as if she weighs nothing. She stands off to the side as he interacts with the fans. He talks about being attacked by a "red, white and blue Tasmanian devil" making her chuckle. He calls Kurt out.

Kurt comes out to the top of the ramp but says he wants none of John tonight. He'll face him at Unforgiven. He talks about the winning streak he's on and brags about all his accomplishments.

John asks Kurt if he just said that he won a gold medal. He acts as if he didn't know that which baffles Lady. He says that maybe he's in a bit over his head, "BUT I'M STILL CALLING YOUR ASS OUT!" he shouts to Kurt.

Lady grins at this spectacle. _"Oh this is definitely better than July 11th." _she thinks. Suddenly she finds herself catching John's shirt. She realizes he's preparing to fight Kurt. She doesn't leave the ring because she doesn't think Kurt has the nerve to come down. Instead of just hanging onto the shirt she decides to slip it on over her tee and shorts. This sparks a few whistles from some male fans behind her. Kurt slowly makes his way toward the ring, but stops and walks off up the aisle. Kurt comes down to ringside again at the prompting of "you suck" chants. Lady steps behind the ropes but stays on the apron. Kurt again stops before getting in the ring and John laughs. John said he forgot, last week, he knows that Kurt likes to hit guys from behind. John turns around with his back to Kurt and tells him he can do whatever he wants. Kurt hits the ring! Lady hops down off the apron. Kurt takes John down from behind and locks in the Ankle Lock in the middle of the ring, but John kicks him off right through the ropes. Kurt starts to get back inside, but some referees hold him back as John gets fired up in the ring.

"You're crazy, you know that?" Lady states once she and John are backstage. "Oh, do you want your shirt back?" She begins taking it off.

"Sure." John replies taking it from her. "Hey, ya gotta be at least a little crazy to make it in this business." He asserts as he puts the shirt on.

She nods. "Yeah. Which is why I might just fit right in." she says hesitantly.

"Whoa Lady..." He looks her straight in the eyes. "Are you thinking about getting in the ring to wrestle?"

She nibbles her lip and mumbles a barely audible, "Yeah."

"Lady, wrestling's something you gotta train hard for." John insists.

"I have been training." John gives her a bewildered look. "With Shawn and even some with Chris. And Shawn hooked me up with some trainers."  
"Really?" he asks finding what she's saying hard to believe. "Shawn has helped you train for action inside the ring?"

"Yes and no. It's just been for fun and of course exercise..." She starts to pace back and forth. "Lately, I've thought about being more than merely a cute face and cheerleader. I wanna do more than just escort you guys to the ring and have to sit back and watch when everything gets all crazy."

"Lady, what about your illness?" John asserts.

"What about it? If I'm gonna have aches and pains anyways, might as well be for a reason."

John sighs and shakes his head. He takes her face in his hands. "Listen to me, the attacks are sudden and unpredictable right?"

"Yeah." she whispers.

"What if in the middle of a match you have one? It'll totally throw you off." He desperately wants to talk her out of this because he can't bear the thought of her getting hurt.

Moved by his protectiveness she looks into his dark blue eyes, places her hands over his and says, "I appreciate your concern. And believe me I've thought about everything you've just said." She removes his hands from her face but still holds them. "I'm just tired of letting circumstances hold me down. This is something I wanna do, and if I have a chance to I want to take it."

The look in her eyes tells him this is something she truly wants to do. "Okay. If you're really serious about this I'll help you."

"Really?" she smiles! He nods. "Thank you so much!"

They hug. _"What's wrong with me? Why do I feel such a need to take care of this girl?" _he wonders to himself. He laughs in his mind. _"It's just cause of all those times she took care of me when I was hurt."_ He releases her. "What time do you leave for home tomorrow?"

"Not till the afternoon. Why?"

"How bout meeting me in the hotel gym, 7AM? We can work on some stuff."

"That sounds great. Thank you again. I just have one favor to ask." she says.

"What's that?"

"Please don't tell Shawn. I don't feel like arguing with him. I don't want him thinking I had this planned all along when I talked him into letting me train."

"My lips are sealed." he promises.

"Thanks." She stretches up and gives him a peck on the cheek. This causes his heart to flutter and startles her. "Um, I'll see you later." she says before dashing off.

He shakes his head and tells himself, _"Man, she's just a friend that's it!" _

It's close to time for Shawn's match against Carlito and Masters so Lady goes to find him. She sees John talking to him. _"Oh no! He promised me he wouldn't."_ She races over to them. "Hey fellas." she says nervously. "What's up?"

"John was telling me about the problem you had with Masters earlier." Shawn informs her. "You don't have to go out there if you don't want to."

"I'm fine! He just kinda gave me the creeps. Besides, we'll be in front of thousands of people and he'll be focused on the match."

"Okay then, let's get ready to head out there."

"Yeah I'll be right there." she says. She waits until Shawn is out of earshot then turns to John. "I'm sorry for thinking you broke your promise."

"I wouldn't do that. But you do need to tell him." Jokingly he says, "Or are you planning on just getting in the ring and shocking the hell outta him?"

She laughs. "No. I'm gonna tell him. So, 7AM?" she asks confirming their date.

"7AM."

"Okay, I'll see you then."

"Okay, see ya!"

She watches in amazement as Shawn continually manages to come back despite how persistent Carlito and Masters are being. She hates handicap matches. No matter how great the guy she's rooting for is, they just aren't fair. At one point Masters distracts the ref while Carlito illegally chokes Shawn in the corner. She jabs her long fingernails into Carlito's leg forcing him to turn loose of Shawn. Later she decides to try and help Shawn out by distracting Masters, who ever so often has eyed her throughout the match. _"Ah, I can't believe I'm going to do this..." _she thinks to herself as she walks toward him. Unfortunately her plan backfires when he starts to manhandle her provoking Shawn to come to the rescue. Masters nails him with a killer clothesline. The match ends when Ric Flair rushes to the ring, bandaged head and all, Shawn makes the tag. Flair succumbs to Masters' master-lock leading to the win for Carlito and Masters. Before arrogantly walking up the ramp Masters strokes Lady's face. She slaps his hand away in disgust.

She quietly fidgets and avoids looking at him on the ride to the hotel. "Lady what's wrong with you?" asks Shawn.

She taps her nails on the window glass as she tries to gather her thoughts. Finally she takes a deep breath and faces him. "I want to talk to you about something and I'm afraid you might get mad."

"Lady, you're a hard person to get mad at."

She laughs. "Thanks." She sighs. "Okay, I'll get right to it. I want to wrestle. And I _promise_ that I didn't get this idea until recently. When I got to you start training me it was just for fun and a good workout."

"I'm not surprised at all by this. I mean the way you acted during John's last few matches against Jericho, interfering tonight with Carlito and Masters. Have taken into consider..."

"The Fibromyalgia." she cuts him off. "Yes! I've taken everything into consideration. This isn't a decision to be made lightly and I _didn't _make it lightly."

"Well, I can't say it's what I had planned when I got you a job with the WWE but you're a smart girl, I trust you to make the right decisions about your life."  
"Thank you! I was about to chicken out of telling you altogether. I thought about asking John to talk to you after making him promise to NOT tell you."

"You talked to John about it?"

"Yeah." She thinks back. "He actually seemed more freaked out about it than I thought you would be."


	6. Chapter 6

_The next morning_

He enters the gym and sees a woman riding a stationary bike; her back is to him. "Lady?"

"Hey!" she replies looking over her shoulder.

"I can't believe you beat me here." he says walking to her.

"Well I woke up a half-hour before the clock was set to go off, and I couldn't go back to sleep." Now standing in front of her she notices him staring at her. "What?" she asks finding herself feeling a bit nervous.

"Uh, I've never seen you without make up before. You're very beautiful." he compliments her and wonders why he's feeling butterflies in his stomach.

"Thanks." she replies blushing. "Actually considering I only see you on tape nights, I've never seen you without make up either. You're not so bad yourself." She teasingly grins.

He chuckles. "Well thanks. Just lemme warm up and then we'll get started."

She nods. She takes several deep breaths to try and steady her racing heart. In her mind she tells herself, _"Girl, calm down! There's no need to get so nervous, John's a great guy." _She argues with herself, _"Exactly! He's hot, he's sweet, he's..." _she stops her thoughts before she starts to feel any more panicky. She accidentally lets a sigh escape her lips.  
"Are you okay?" John asks.

She looks over at him on the elliptical trainer. Her starts to race again. "Yeah. I'm fine." she lies looking back away from him.

He thinks to himself. _"The real question is, are YOU okay, Cena?"_ He looks at Lady. _"I've been around this girl for a couple months now, why's she suddenly making me feel all crazy?" _

Flashback

He sees her tense up when talking about Bischoff and Jericho. This is the most time they've ever spent together, yet from everything he knows about her, she's much too sweet to have to deal with their garbage. He takes her face in his hands. "Lady, don't let them get to you! It's obvious they don't respect you, they're not worth making yourself sick over."

"Thanks!" she says.

He's surprised when her tiny arms fling around his neck. He knew she didn't really like him so he didn't expect her to be _this_ grateful. "You're welcome." he replies loosely wrapping his large arms around her slender body. He feels a strange sensation as she looks into his eyes. Her warm lips touch his and he feels a spark. He begins to kiss her back. Was it just a spark from the shock of her action or something else? He wanted to find out. He tightens his arms around her to pull her closer. She breaks the kiss. The look on her face is one of complete astonishment.

End flashback

He rolls over the details in his mind. _"At SummerSlam, she said she wanted to just be friends. I said it's best to not mix business with pleasure. And it's true, I just wanna focus on my career now, not get serious with someone." _If that were true then why had his heart sank when she said she just wanted to be friends? Why did it flutter when she mentioned their kiss last week?

"John?" He looks at the beautiful, petite woman standing next to him. "You seemed lost in space, are you okay?" Lady asks.

"Yeah, I'm okay." He turns off the machine and steps down. "Let's get started."

For the next half-hour or so they work on several different wrestling techniques. "I gotta admit, I'm impressed." he tells her.

"What did you think I was going to suck?" she inquires jokingly.

"No! Just didn't expect you to be this into it."

"Well I watched wrestling with my grandmother when I was little. I have only watched it off and on since she died but I think it's pretty darn cool. Why else I would I be doing this?"

"It definitely helps to love what it is that you do." He goes over to a punching bag. "Let's see how a tough a Little Lady you really are."

"Okay." As he holds the bag she stands on the other side of it. She begins to nail the bag with some rather hard kicks and punches.

Though he's in awe of how good she is he teases her, "Oh come on, you can do better than that."

"Oh you want better?" she quizzes as she moves around the bag to face him.

She playfully punches him. "Oh good one!" he responds before tackling her to the mat. She screams in surprise. He braces himself over her on his knees, and has her arms lightly pinned above her head. "So how you gonna get out of this?" he asks.

She grins at him. "Like this." To his utter surprise she DOES reverse the hold now has him pinned.  
_"Damn, this is one amazing woman!" _he thinks to himself.

"Oh gosh!" she groans bracing herself with one hand against his chest as she holds the other to her face.  
"Lady?" He sits up as she climbs off him. "What's wrong?" He gently turns her pale face toward him.

She breathes through a wave of nausea to say, "I need to eat. I usually do BEFORE I work out so my blood sugar won't drop."

"Okay, come on." He slowly helps her to her feet.

They go to the hotel dining room where there is a buffet style, continental breakfast. He helps her to a table then goes and gets her some orange juice knowing it will get sugar into her system faster. "Here ya go." He kneels in front of her. She tries to hold the glass but her hands are shaking so badly he puts it to her lips for her. She takes a couple sips and the shaking subsides. She brings her hand to the glass and touches his hand. She looks into his eyes. His sweetness could make her almost as weak as the hypoglycemia itself. "Better?" he asks. She nods. He hands the glass over to her and stands. "What do you want to eat?"

"Uh..." she tries to think through her brain fog. "A waffle and a cof... coffee with cream." As he goes to get the food she scolds herself, _"Lady, get a hold of yourself. You can't fall for this guy. At least not yet."_ He comes back to the table with waffles and coffee for each of them. "Thanks." she says.

"No problem. You sure you're feeling better? You're not as pale as you were before."

"Yeah, I'm feeling better thanks."

After breakfast her walks her to her room. "Well I better start getting ready if I wanna be able to leave on time. Thanks again for everything." she says.  
"I'm glad I could help you out." he insists. He doesn't really want to say goodbye, the thought of not seeing her for six days eats away at him. Finally he says, "So see ya Monday." She nods. He wants to hug her, hell kiss her, but he knows it would only make him feel worse. He composes himself. "Okay, well see you then."  
"Bye." She slips through the door and closes it behind her. "Oh, what is happening to me?" she groans.

_September 5, 2005_

John sees Lady talking with Eugene. She sees John and goes to him. "Hey." she says.

"Hey. Eugene wanting you to take Christy's place as his valet?"

"No. Actually I asked him if I could go out there for his match against Angle."

John laughs. "Why?"

"Cause I'm sure Kurt will play dirty and you'll make the save. It'll be easier if I'm already at ringside rather than trying to catch up as you run out there."

They both chuckle. "Okay. I'll see you out there." he says.

During the match Kurt has total control until he slams Eugene's head off the turnbuckle. Eugene freaks out and drops Kurt with a spinebuster! He runs at Kurt but Kurt gets his elbow up. Kurt then takes Eugene by the legs and he slams them off the steel ring post! He slams Eugene's leg off the steel ring post once more before pulling him in the middle of the ring. He takes the straps off and slaps on the Ankle Lock! Eugene taps instantly! Kurt wants to punish Eugene some more and reapplies the Ankle Lock. Just as Lady expected, John makes the save. He and Kurt exchange right hands until John gets the upper hand and knocks Kurt flat out of the ring! John turns around and Tyson Tomko kicks him right in the face with a big boot. Lady screams and rushes to John's side. Kurt stands over John taunting him with "You didn't see that." before heading backstage.

"Lady, I'm fine!" John insists as the trainer checks him over.

"You probably are, but stop arguing and let the medics check you out. Bischoff would just love it if you were hurt, because you're still stubborn enough to face Tomko later tonight."

"You're damn right!" he says with a grin.

She shakes her head and glances at her watch. "I have to go take my medicine, I'll be back."

As she approaches her dressing room she sees Masters standing by the door. "Get lost, creep!" she demands.

"Oh come on, Lady. I thought we could go out and celebrate after I make Shawn collapse in the Masterlock Challenge."  
His muscle flexing only serves to annoy and nauseate her. "Go masterlock yourself." she hisses as she dashes inside the dressing room and locks the door. "Don't want that jerk barging in here." After taking her medicine she tries to unlock the door. It's stuck! "Oh no." she murmurs and tries again. It's really stuck.

John wonders where Lady is, but decides not to worry about her and focus on his match. He runs to the ring and tackles Tomko and unloads on him before sending him corner to corner nailing him with back elbows and clotheslines followed by a big vertical suplex. He drops a few elbows on Tomko and then goes for a cover. Tomko gets a poke to his eye and then gives him a spinebuster.

Lady pounds on the door and yells for help. Eric walks by and hears her. He grins and thinks to himself, _"Well at least she can't interfere."_ He walks away.

Tomko drops John with a powerslam and he nearly gets a pinfall. Tomko unloads with knees on John's head followed by a suplex for another near fall. Tomko places him in a rear chin lock. John fights back to a vertical base but Tomko takes his head off with a sick clothesline. Tomko waits with the boot but he misses and John nails him with a shoulder block, two clotheslines and hip toss followed by a spinning back suplex bomb! John gives Tomko the five-knuckle shuffle after a you can't see me! Tomko gets to his feet and Cena plants him with the FU! He covers and gets the victory!

Lady continues to yell for help.

"Lady?!" she hears a voice call.  
"Edge!" she replies relieved. "Can you _please_ get me outta here?!" The door opens. "Thank you!" She rushes past Edge and Lita toward the ring area. On the backstage monitor she sees that John is down at the top of the ramp, and Kurt is standing over him with the WWE title. She runs outs and nails Kurt from behind with a kick to groin. He drops the belt and crumbles to his knees as she tends to John for the second time in the evening.

_The Masterlock challenge_

Lady escorts Shawn as he makes his way to the ring to a huge ovation. Both he and Masters play mind games with each other before the challenge actually begins. Masters locks in the Masterlock. Shawn battles around the ring, running into the posts, using the ropes to jump and land on Masters but the lock cannot be broken. He starts to fade, but as Lady and the fans cheer, he regains life. He then makes Masters eat turnbuckle but Masters STILL holds on! Shawn backs into the buckle four times and then uses the ropes to land on Masters again but the lock is STILL on. Shawn will not give up! He stands and flails one final time but finally starts to fade. As the ref picks his hand up he revives and stands to his feet! He throws a mule kick at the Masters' jewels forcing Masters to throw him down. Masters grabs the steel chair and cracks Shawn over the head with it when he gets to his feet. He then slaps on the Masterlock again and this time Shawn goes clean out. Masters stands over Shawn posing like he's the man. Lady hits the ring and nails Masters with a hard kick to the ribs. He doubles over in pain and gets a knee to the face from Lady.

She follows behind as some officials help Shawn to the clinic room. Eric grabs her arm. "Hey!" she screams. He drags her into the office. "What's the big idea?" she demands pulling away from him.

"Apparently the big idea is that you want to get in on the action inside the ring." he states.

"Yeah, I do!" she affirms.

"Well then, how would you like to have your first match next Monday night?"

She's intrigued by this prospect but she doesn't trust him. Cautiously she replies, "Sounds good."

"A tag team match." he tells her.

"Okay. With Ashley against Torrie and Candice." she assumes.  
He laughs. "After taking down Masters I think you deserve a bigger challenge than Torrie and Candice." At this point she starts to get uneasy. "You see Lady, I just informed Cena that next week he'll be in a handicap match against Kurt Angle and Tyson Tomko."

"What's this got to do with me?" she asks almost fearing his answer.

"Well, you can give John the good news that he won't be facing them alone."

Her mind cries out, _"He is NOT saying..."_

"What I'm saying, Lady is that YOU will be Cena's partner and facing Angle and Tomko."

"You sick bas..." she begins.

"Your choice, Lady! Either you tag with Cena next week against Angle and Tomko, or I make his and Angle's Unforgiven match _Hell in a Cell_."

"Okay." her voice cracks. She takes a deep breath. "I'll do it!"

"Thought that would get your attention. So run along and give your boyfriend the good news."  
Trying to ward off tears she says "John's not my..." She hushes before she can break down and exits the office. A few tears escape her eyes. She's shaking. Trying to compose herself she looks down the hall and sees John. "I can't tell him now." she tells herself. "The closer till time for the match, the less time he'll have to try to talk me out of it."


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I didn't watch wrestling for a while so I didn't know about Mick Foley's "Have a nice day" thing and I being a Bon Jovi freak was fascinated with their song. So that's why I used it for Lady.

_September 12, 2005_

Lady finds herself feeling calm. The match doesn't seem as scary to her as it did last week. She's talked to Shawn about it. Instead of being upset when she told him, he decided they should pray for her strength and safety. The prayers were obviously what were making her feel better. She heads toward John's dressing room and begins to feel jittery. She chuckles and thinks to herself, _"Angle and Tomko wanting to tear me apart doesn't make me nervous, but John wanting to protect me does!"_ She knocks. "Come in." he calls. She opens the door and finds him doing push-ups. _"Have mercy! He is so fine!" _She feels herself slightly blush. She shakes it off. "Hey." she says.

He hops to his feet. _"Man, she's looking beautiful tonight." _he thinks to himself. "Hey."

"So getting ready for the match?" she asks closing the door behind her.

"I'm always ready for a match." he responds.

She hesitates before asking a question she already knows the answer to; "You've not talked to Bischoff have you?"

"No. Why?"

She begins to pace, and he can see something is troubling her. He gently takes her arm and turns her to face him. He stares into her eyes. In a low, barely audible voice he asks, "What's wrong?"

She gazes into his enchanting eyes and sees he's worried. "Nothing." she says. "There's good news."

"About what?" he inquires letting go of her.

"Your match tonight. You don't have to face Angle and Tomko alone; you've been assigned a partner." she tells him.

"For real?" he asks surprised. "Who?" She looks down and doesn't answer. "Lady, who is my tag team partner?" Then it hits him! He slowly lifts her chin to make her look at him. "Tell me Bischoff didn't assign you to this match." he pleads.

Softly she replies, "I want to do it."

He backs away from her and yells, "No way!"  
She tries to calm him. "John..."  
"No way in hell am I letting you in the ring with either one of them!" He poses a rhetorical question, "Wha... what's Bischoff thinking?!"  
She thinks to herself, _"I can't tell him I was more or less blackmailed into this." _She says to him, "John, look I want to do this. I'll admit that at first I was a bit freaked out" She thinks, _"More than a bit." _"But..."

"Wait!" he cuts her off. "When did you find this out?"

"Last week after I took down Masters."

"And you're just now telling me?!"

"Yeah! I knew you'd try to talk me out of it. But guess what? You can't!"

"Lady, I'm not putting you in danger like that! It's not happening!" he insists.

She chuckles. "So Mr. I-never-back-down-from-a-fight wants me to back down."

"Lady, it's not li.."

"Listen!" She yells and franticly waves her arms. "I'm going out there! And I'm going to kick ass. I know there are risks but hey, gotta have my first match sometime. Just accept it! I'm going to be your tag team partner. You can't sto..." She feels herself being slammed into his chest and immediately his warm mouth crashes against hers.

He firmly grounds his mouth against hers and softly massages her lips with his. He hears her whimper and feels her start to go limp as he takes her bottom lip into his mouth and tenderly nips it. Finally he ends the kiss. He stares down into her astonished face. "I'm sorry." Was he? He didn't know what had possessed him to kiss her like that. He tells her, "Uh...I was just trying to shut you up."   
"Uh huh." She holds onto his arms to steady herself. Once she regains composure she says, "Are you sure? Weren't trying to talk me out of the match without using words?"

"I'll be honest. I don't want you doing this, but you're as stubborn as I am. So I know I can't stop you. The best thing we can do is work on our strategy." His cell phone rings. "Excuse me." He goes to answer it.

She's still trying to recover from that kiss... not so much the kiss but the intensity of it. The way he had grabbed her and pulled her into that kiss was... almost as if their very lives depended on it. She turns around and looks at him. _"Does he have feelings for me? Feelings, beyond friends and co-workers?" _She averts her gaze. _"Does it matter? I ... I have feelings for someone else. I'm deeply in love... sure it's unrequited but it's true on my part nonetheless." _She feels his hand on her shoulder and shakes herself out of her thoughts. She turns to face him. "Everything okay?" she asks softly.

"Yeah. Just working out some details for my trip to Italy." She stares at him. "What?"

She grabs a Kleenex and proceeds to wipe his mouth. "Bistro Burgundy doesn't really go well with camouflage." she says with a sheepish grin.

He laughs not knowing what to say. _"What's going on with you, Cena? If you fall for this girl you could totally screw yourself up in the ring."_

She breaks the awkward silence. "Hope you have a safe trip and don't have too much trouble with jet lag."

"I handle it."

She nods. "Yes, 'sleep is not mandatory'." she quotes him. "Gotta say that's not the healthiest attitude to have. Then again I deal with chronic fatigue so..."

"About that!" He thinks about her illness. "How are you feeling tonight? Pain? Fatigue?"

"I'm okay." she insists. "I had few small attacks, but I'm good."

"You're sure?" he asks still hoping she'll change her mind.  
"I'm fine! I want to do this." She smiles slyly. "I have a great entrance theme that will make Bischoff _so _happy." she states sarcastically.

"Oh really?" he inquires with a big smile of his own. "What is it?"

"New Bon Jovi single. It kinda tells someone off in a clever little way."

"I think we might make a great team, Lady. That slick little attitude of yours."  
She smiles. "Well I kinda like to think of myself a bad little good girl. I'm really a good girl but wherever I see something wrong going down, I wanna step in and do something about it. Why don't I go get changed into my ring attire then we can go over our strategy?" She sees his eyebrows raise at "ring attire." "Don't get all excited! I will be wearing more than what some of the other divas wear."

He scolds himself for his momentary desire. _"Geez, man she's not that kinda girl." _"Lady, you're a beautiful woman. You don't have to run around showing off your..." Now _she _raises an eyebrow causing him to choose his words carefully. "assets to get attention."

"Thanks. I really appreciate that. I'll see you in a bit." she says before heading out the door.

She stops a few feet from her dressing room and laughs. "I don't believe it!" It's Masters waiting for her yet again. She walks up to him. "Lemme guess! You're one of those guys that gets off on getting your ass kicked by a girl?"

"I didn't exactly enjoy being on the receiving end of those shots." he says. "But you got some impressive moves. Makes me wonder what other moves you got."

"How about you just watch the main event, like all the rest of us, to see what other moves she's got." states Shawn from behind Lady.

"Break a leg." Masters tells Lady.

"Don't temp... HEY!" Shawn rushes her inside her dressing room before she can finish her snippy retort. She groans, "That guy is such a jerk!"

"Don't worry about Masters right now." Shawn tells her. "You've got two other jerks to worry about. How did John take it when you told you're going to be his tag team partner?"

"Well he wasn't happy about it." she slowly begins. She takes a deep breath and begins to ramble, "He said that he wouldn't put me in danger. I got upset cause he insists on never backing down but was telling me to back down. I was yelling at him, and he kissed me. Finally, he realized that he can't talk me out of the match so we're gonna work on our game plan."

"Whoa! Wait. Back up, Lady!" says Shawn. "He kissed you?"

She nods. "Like I said I was yelling at him, he was just trying to shut me up." But that wasn't the first time they'd kiss. She thinks back to Montreal.

Shawn sees a wandering look in her eyes. "You've finally come out of your denial haven't you?" he asks.

She looks at him perplexed for a moment. Then recalls her insistence that she did NOT have a crush on John when Shawn told her she did. She laughs! "Yeah. I've... I've got a crush on the guy." She sits on the sofa and lets out a sigh. "I think. I don't know." she says holding her head in her hands.

Shawn sits beside and puts his arm around her shoulders. "Lady, it would do you good to let go of Nate, and John's a nice guy."

Her hands drop to her lap. "I know." she states. "I figured that out in Montreal... right before _I _kissed _him_." She looks at Shawn and answers his questioning look, "Yeah. I kissed John!"

"Wow" replies Shawn. "Lady, I know you, you're not the kinda girl that would kiss a fella unless you have feelings for him. So what's the deal?"

"I don't know." She pauses before continuing "I didn't like that guy at all. I mean other than being good-looking he did nothing for me... Then he did something so sweet for me. When we were in Montreal... Well you know I got irate when Chris hit John with that chair."

"Yeah, I saw! _You _went after Chris with the chair."  
She nods her head. "Yep. I convinced John to go get checked out and then I went and got into it with Chris and Eric. When I went to check on John I had an attack. He didn't know what was going on, and it freaked him out. He was so concerned and stayed right with me. When it was over he was very curious to find out what the heck had just happened. I was telling him about the stress from Chris and Eric's craziness making things worse, and..." She envisions his face when he took her face in his hands and smiles at the memory. "He was just so sweet to me. And I kissed him."

"And?" asks Shawn.

"And I freaked out!" she proclaims. "I confronted him at SummerSlam and said we should just be friends. Come on, Shawn, I can't fall for another... " She sighs. "I see similarities between John and Nate.. _bad _ones. I don't want to get over one bad boy just to fall for another one."

"Lady, you're talking to a reformed bad boy here." states Shawn. "It took a good woman to turn me around. Maybe that's what John needs."

"Maybe." she whispers. " In a normal tone she states, "I've given Nate over to God. I know that I can't worry about him and what he's doing. But at the same time I still ... I can hear a certain song and it's all there."

Shawn gives her a brotherly hug and glances at his watch. "You can sort all this out later. Right now you've got a match to get ready for." He stands and helps her up off the couch. "Any nerves?"

She shakes her head. "No. Actually I'm pretty calm about the whole thing."

"That's good, but make sure you stay on guard." he advises.

"I will. Thanks, for every thing."

"It's no problem." he insists exiting the room.

She thinks aloud as she changes clothes "Don't think about romance, think about this match. How can I not think about romance?! What the heck made me say yes to this match just to get John out of 'Hell in a Cell?' I've never been so protective of a person that I wasn't related to or a long time friend with since... Oh my gosh... Nate..." She pulls her shirt over her head and straightens it out. "Am I ... could I be... fa... falling... in love with... John?" As she ponders the answer there's a knock at the door. "Come in."

_He _opens the door and steps inside. "Wow. You look great." he says looking at her deep pink tights and white babydoll tee with "Lady" written in bright pink letters across the front.

"Thanks." she replies. She grabs a brush and starts to brush her hair.

"I guess it'd pointless to make one last attempt to talk you out of this."

"John, I thought you said we were going to talk about game-plan." She fastens her hair into a ponytail. "Please don't tell me that you've got some plan of NOT tagging me in."

"I'd be lyin' if I said I hadn't thought about it. But I don't want a little spitfire like you mad at me." he chuckles.

She laughs and playfully swats his arm with the hairbrush. "No, you don't. So what's the plan?"

John tells her his ideas for the match. As they leave the dressing room he takes her hand, interlacing their fingers. He leads her toward the Bischoffice. "Why are we going to see Eric?" she inquires. John doesn't answer.

Eric is on the phone when they enter the office. "I'll call you back." he says to the person on the other end.

"Eric..." John begins sounding _and looking _all serious. "Mr. Bischoff, about tonight... this match. I don't want it."

"John!" Lady responds. He lightly places his finger to her lips to shush her then turns back to Eric. "I'm talking the match tonight, Unforgiven, all of it. I've had enough. I tried to come to Raw and make an impact by being controversial. I got nothing left. And now you're bringing Lady into it." He slides the belt off his shoulder and looks at it. "This title means nothing to me compared to her." What did he just say?! He covers by saying, "I mean it's not worth her safety."

Lady wants to say something but she's completed stunned by what he's doing.  
John says to Eric, "You win man. Here take it." He starts to hand him the belt. As Eric reaches for it John pulls it away and yells, "You stupid son of a bitch!"

Lady tries to cover her laughter, though she can't hide the huge grin on her face.

John continues to rant at Eric letting him know that no matter how much he stacks the deck "The Champ is here!" He puts his arm around her and pulls her close. "And this beautiful woman, she's tougher than you think. She's full of surprises. She'll kick ass tonight."

John's still holding onto her as they turn to leave. She looks back at Eric and says, "Have a nice day, Mr. Bischoff." They exit the office.

"Have a nice day?" John asks.

"Just listen to my entrance music. Boy, you had me going in there! You deserve an Oscar for that performance."

"Hey screwing with Frosty Top's always fun." They hear Tomko's music playing. "That's your cue to get ready. I'll see ya out there."

"Okay." She darts off toward the curtain.

John thinks about what he said in the office. Lady means nothing to him compared to the title. _"It's not just concern for her safety. What is it? I've always been a live for today kinda guy, but now I'm thinking when can I see this woman again. She just wants to be friends. Can I be just friends with her?" _He's shaken out of his thoughts by the voice of another Jon as Lady's entrance music comes on.

_Take a look around you; nothing's what it seems  
We're living in the broken home of hopes and dreams  
Let me be the first to shake a helping hand  
Anybody brave enough to take a stand  
I've knocked on every door on every dead-end street  
Looking for forgiveness and what's left to believe_

Lady makes her way toward the ring all smiles as Angle and Tomko glare at her.

_Oh, if there's one thing I hang onto that gets me thru the night  
I ain't gonna do what I don't want to; I'm gonna live my life  
Shining like a diamond, rolling with the dice  
Standing on the ledge, I show the wind how to fly_

She shakes hands with fans before bounding up the ring steps.

_When the world gets in my face, I say…  
_

She pauses before stepping through the ropes.

_Have a nice day  
Have a nice day _

She slips through the ropes and into the ring.

John laughs hysterically after realizing how Bischoff's just been burned with Lady's backhanded comment. Bischoff, watching the monitor backstage is of course not happy.

Lady stares down Kurt and Tomko. She looks over her shoulder as John's music hits and he makes his way to the ring. He and Kurt exchange some words. Kurt and Lady exit the ring, so John and Tomko get things started. John turns his back to Tomko as Eric comes out to the stage. Tomko attacks John from behind. John retaliates and takes Tomko down and nails him with right hands. Kurt nailed John from the apron and tags in. Kurt nails John in the corner and then whips him to the corner but eats boot when he charges in. John nails a side slam for a two count but then Kurt raked the eyes and tags in Tomko. As John stumbles toward their corner Lady tags herself in. When his vision clears John sees Lady wearing down Tomko with some of the moves they'd worked on. _"She is **amazing**!" _Kurt tries to assault her from behind but she sees him and lands an elbow to the face. She's caught by surprised when Tomko knocks her outta the ring. Kurt pulls her up to her feet then slaps her so hard that she falls into John, who's come to her aid. The action makes its way back in the ring between John and Kurt. Tomko tags back in and as John works him over Kurt tries to attack John from behind. Still reeling from his slap, Lady goes to John's aid taking Kurt's legs out from under him. After Kurt gets tagged in he locks in a chin lock on John. John fights out with a back suplex. Tomko and Lady are tagged in. He goes for the big boot but she sidesteps it and lands a hard kick to the sternum. Kurt grabs her legs and drags her outta the ring. He locks in the ankle lock. As John tries to rescue her Tomko recovers and pounces him. John fights back and picks Tomko up for the FU. Kurt turns Lady loose, grabs John from behind and nails the German, while Tomko was still on John's shoulders! Kurt hits another German, but John blocks a third. When Tomko goes for a big boot he nails Kurt! Seeing Lady now on her feet, John hits the FU on Tomko, and gets the win. Kurt gets back in the ring and stomps John then wrenches at his face. Lady can barely stand on her ankle but she tries to get inside the ring. Eric pulls her back. She pulls away from him and falls, hitting her head on the steps. Kurt hits some Crossface punches and some vicious uppercuts and knee lifts as Eric barks orders from the outside. An extremely dizzy Lady manages to slide into the ring but collapses. She sees Kurt hit the Angle Slam and then a knee to John's privates! Then she fades into blackness. Kurt pulls John to the ring post and sends his ankle into it! Kurt stomps John's ankle as he writhes in pain. Lady starts coming around and sees Eric gets in the ring. As Kurt chokes John with his boot Eric yells at John, "I'll take your belt, your dreams. I'll take your damn career and there's nothing you or your little bitch can do about it!" Kurt goes over to Lady and grabs her by her ponytail. She whimpers in pain. He drags her over to John and throws her down on top of him. John ignores his own pain to focus on Lady. She blacks out again. After Kurt and Eric leave the ring John doesn't wait for the medics to come check him and Lady. He gathers her in his arms and securely carries her as he limps backstage.

_In the hospital _

John looks at the beautiful woman lying unconscious and fights back tears. He was angry. Angry at the men who had done this to her. Angry at her for putting herself in danger. Angry at himself for not protecting her. But it was going to be okay. He'd make sure of it. He lightly runs his finger over her bruised cheek, then places a tender kiss to it. He brings his lips up to her ear and whispers, "They're going to pay."


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Song is "These Arms of Mine" by Otis Redding.

_The next morning_

John is in Oklahoma City for the Unforgiven press conference. He really wanted to be by Lady's bedside back in Little Rock. He sees Shawn talking on his cell phone and figures he has news on Lady. He limps over to him. "Hey man."

"Hey. What's up? How's the ankle?" asks Shawn.

"As long as I keep it taped up I'm fine. My main concern is Lady. You got any news?" John implores.

"I was just talking to her mother. Lady's awake; she's eating. The doctor says he'll probably release her this evening."

John sighs in relief. "I know the doctor said it was just a mild concussion but... just seeing her like that..." He feels himself start to become emotional and fights if off. "I'm glad she's gonna be okay. Bischoff and Angle are gonna pay!" he insists.

"John, I understand your anger, but listen to me. Don't go getting yourself into even more trouble with those two. Trust me, it won't help Lady any." Shawn claims.

The screen of the cell phone says "No signal" "Dammit!" he curses aloud. He wanted to talk to her before he boarded his fight to Italy. "_I know Shawn said she's fine, but I need to hear her voice." _He gets a signal! "Finally!" He hears the final call for boarding over the PA and groans. He shuts off the phone. _"I'll call her after we land...no...I'll be so busy I'll barely have time to breathe...I'll call her when I get back...no...I'll go see her when I get back...yeah...I'll go see her." _

He tries to take his mind off of Lady. Not an easy task considering that one of the flight attendants greatly favors her. He thought the in-flight movie might help take is mind off of her, but boy was he wrong! The movie is Miss Congeniality 2 and throughout it all he can think about is how much Lady and Sandra Bullock look alike. _"Why can't I get her off my mind?...I wish I coulda stayed with her...She just wants to be friends. We're just friends, and I'm cool with that...Come on man, stop thinking about her. " _He pulls the latest edition of Raw magazine out of his bag and opens it. "Oh man!" he exclaims staring at the page. "Leading Lady: An interview with WWE's newest shining star." There is a beautiful still shot of her standing at ringside. Then three other shots of her walking toward the ring: one with Shawn, one with Chris and one with him. In the interview she talks about how Shawn helped her get the job and the fun she's had. When ask about siding with John after clearly being _against _him when he debuted on Raw she says, "What can I say? I was wrong about the guy! He's a sweetheart. He grew on me. Forget Christian, Cena is the real Captain Charisma (laughs)! Seriously, he's a good friend."

"'Friend.'" He tosses magazine back in his bag and groans. "That's all it can be! Stop thinking about her!" he reprimands himself. He close his eyes and drifts off to sleep, but even in his slumber he can't escape her.

Dream

He's in his dressing room. She walks in. "Hey handsome."

"Hey beautiful." he replies. "How you doing?"

"I'm doing just fine."

"And what about the little one, Mrs. Cena?" he says as he puts his hand on her expanding belly.

"Doing great! I think we've got a little wrestler on our hands."

"Well of course! It's runs in the family." He smiles as he pulls her close. "How about a good luck kiss before my match?"

"Who are you trying to kid? You don't need luck, but I'll still give you a kiss." She places her hand on the back of his head and pulls him down toward her. She claims his mouth with hers and flicks her tongue over his. He pulls her closer and begins returning the kiss...

"Mr. Cena." A female voice awakens him. He opens his eyes to see the flight attendant, the one that looks so much like _her. _"I'm sorry to wake you, but we'll be landing soon."

Still groggy he mumbles, "Um okay. Thank you." He goes over the dream in his head, _"Damn, that was some dream. It felt so real." _His mouth burns from that kiss! _"Lady and I married, having a baby...Yeah, like that'll ever happen. We're just friends! I'm not going to fall in love with her...Of course I'm not **going **to fall in love with her...I HAVE fallen in love with her." _

_Back in Little Rock_

"Well Miss Davis, I bet you're ready to get out of here." says the nurse. "Did you have a good nap?"

"Yes." she replies. She runs her hand over her flat tummy and thinks about her dream. _"We were married. I was pregnant with his baby...Can it really happen?" _

She settles into the bed in her hotel room and adjusts herself into a comfortable position. She switches on her laptop computer. She sees that her friend Lorena is online and messages her.

Lady: Hey woman! What's up?!

Lorena: Hey! I'm sorry but I didn't get to watch wrestling last night and I forgot to tape it. How did you do? Did you win?

Lady: Um... well JOHN won for our team. He got Tomko with the FU...I did pretty good but...um I got injured. I just now got released from the hospital.

Lorena: The FU? You were injured?! What happened?!

Lady: lol! You'd have to watch Raw to understand all the wrestling stuff. Long story short, I got a sprained ankle and minor concussion. I'm at the hotel in Little Rock. I'll make the ride back to San Antonio tomorrow.

Lorena: So you're okay?

Lady: Yeah, it's nothing I can't handle.

She doesn't type anything for a moment then...Lady: I had a dream about Nate earlier.

Lorena: Really? What about?

Lady: It was SOO real! We were married and I was pregnant. Lorena, all those feelings are still there, no change at all.

She waits for a reply but Lorena doesn't send one. Finally...Lorena: Well you know the last info I got on him.

She sighs as she types...Lady: Yeah I know.

Lorena: Tell me about this John guy!

Lady laughs as she responds. She ends up having virtually the same conversation with Lorena that she'd had with Shawn the night before. Lady: I thought I might be able to move on, maybe with John...But then I had that dream. sighs I don't know what to think!

Lorena: Well you know I'll help you with Nate any way I can.

Lady: Yeah I know. Thank you. I'm getting tired, so I'm gonna lie down. Good night.

Lorena: Take care, good night!

Lady sets off the computer and sighs as Nate's face some into her mind. "What's going to happen?"

_Early Saturday Afternoon_

John sits on the bed in his hotel room, staring at the gold and diamond bracelet in his hand. "What the hell were you thinking?" he asks himself. "She just wants to be friends, this is _way _more than a friendship bracelet." He puts it back in its box. "But I want to be _more _than friends... On the other hand, I don't want to scare her off. Maybe I should call her before I go see her... No! I wanna surprise her." He sighs as he stands. He grabs the directions and the keys to his rental car before heading out.

He pulls up in front of the small, but cozy looking white house and kills the engine.

She turns off the cassette player and she removes her headphones. She listens for her mother's footsteps. Nothing. "Guess I just THOUGHT I heard a car."

He once again stares at the bracelet. "I can't give this to her now. It'll seem like I'm trying to buy her affection." He locks it in the glove box and stares at her front door. His heart races! "Come on, you've been dying to see her since Monday night." Finally he exits the car and heads for the door.

She hears a loud knock on the door. Her mother would have used her key. Who in the world could be here? "Just a minute." she calls. She lays her Bible and the cassette player over on the coffee table. Then she untangles her legs from the blanket. As she attempts to stand with her crutches she knocks her CDs off the table. She groans. "I'm coming" she bellows as she hobbles to the door. She looks through the peephole and can't believe her eyes. She slowly opens the door. "John?" She can't hide the nervous smile on her face.

He smiles back as he gently wraps his arms around her tiny body. "Hey Beautiful." He kisses her cheek.

"_Beautiful? Yeah right! Unwashed hair in a sloppy ponytail...a sweat suit." _she thinks, returning the hug the best way she can. He holds her for a moment, not wanting to let go. Finally he pulls away. "What are you doing here? Um come in." she says.

He steps inside. "I wanted to come see you. I got the directions from Shawn. His word wasn't good enough for me, I had to see for myself how you're doing." She blushes and smiles. "He said you live with your mom."

"Yeah I do, she had to run some errands. Have a seat." she insists hobbling back to the couch.

He stoops down and picks the CDs up off the floor and goes through them. "A tee-shirt, your entrance music and about a dozen CDs... I take it you're a big Bon Jovi fan." he teases her.

She giggles. "Yeah! Since I was a little girl I've..." She was slightly startled when he moved the pillows to sit next to her. He laid them on his lap before gently draping her leg across the pillows to support her injured ankle.

"Since you were a little girl what?" he inquires.

"I, I've just loved Bon Jovi. Of course all the guys are awesome but Jon's the man!" She laughs and says, "I guess you could say he's my Hulk Hogan, cept you probably don't go around talking about how hot Hogan is."

John laughs, "NO! Not quite! But I get where you're coming from." He looks into her eyes. "Are you really okay?"

"John, I'm fine." she insists. "I'm going to be in Wichita Falls Monday for Raw. Other than having to fool with these crutches for the next few weeks, everything's fine. So how was your trip?"

"It was great. Busy, but great! So what have you been up to besides wearing out your Bon Jovi CDs?" he says with a laugh.

"Catching up on my Bible study. I got totally out of doing it. But now I'm making a commitment to keep it up. And for your information, I have LOTS of music besides Bon Jovi!"

"Like what?" he asks.

She swings her leg off his lap and grabs her crutches. "Follow me." They go to her bedroom. "Three cases full of cassettes and a shelf full of CDs. Country, pop, rock, r&b. Aaliyah to ZZ Top. Take your pick!" She laughs.

He picks up some CDs lying atop the stereo. "Got some good variety here." He sees the stereo is set on TAPE and asks, "So what you got in here now?"

"Um... the Dirty Dancing soundtracks." she replies.

He laughs and pushes the play button, and "Wipeout" begins to play. "Okay, I can get with this. Pretty cool song."

"Yeah it is." She takes a step, but her foot comes down on something slippery. She begins to fall backward to the bed.

He grabs for her but nearly falls on top of her. Magnetically, their lips meet in a fleeting kiss. He looks into her beautiful eyes. His mind cries, _"I love you so much!"_ But he can't bring himself to say it to her. He stands, takes her hand and helps her to a sitting position.

She looks down. "Oh so that was the culprit."

He looks downs and sees a copy of Raw magazine in the floor under her feet. He laughs as he picks it up. "I was reading this on the way to Italy." he says sitting beside of her.

"I.." She chuckles. "I didn't realize how obvious my dislike for you was until the interviewer brought it up. Later I went online and watched the video of your debut and the look on my face pretty much said it all." she says blushing.

He smiles. "So I'm the real 'Captain Charisma'?"

"Yeah. Which is ironic."

"Why's that?" he asks.

She nervously chews her lip. "Be..cause..." She forces herself to look at him. "If you could have read my mind; I was practically begging Christian to hit you." He laughs. "I was _mean_! I got all excited when Chris attacked you. I had no idea I'd start taking your side. That we'd become friends."

There's that word again. He did enjoy being her friend but he wanted more. "Well I'm glad you changed your mind about me."

She smiles. "Me too." she replies softly.

_These arms of mine _The song begins slowly. John stands and reaches down to Lady.

_They are lonely _"What?"

_Lonely and feeling blue _"Come here." he says in a low voice.

_These arms of mine _He pulls her up.

_They are yearning _She instinctively wraps her arms around his neck.

_Yearning from wanting you _He holds her so that there's no weight on her ankle.

_And if you would let them hold you_  
_Oh how grateful I will be _He begins dancing with her.

_These arms of mine _She laughs softly. "What are you doing?"  
_They are burning  
Burning from wanting you _"Dancing with a beautiful lady."  
_These arms of mine _"You're nuts."  
_They are wanting _"Well that's part of my charm."  
_Wanting to hold you _"Actually yeah, it is."  
_And if you would let them hold you _She rests her chin on his shoulder.  
_Oh how grateful I will be  
_  
_Come on, come on, baby _He nuzzles his face against her neck.  
_Just be my little woman _His heart aches. He so badly wants to tell her how he feels, but he doesn't want to mess up their still new friendship.  
_Just be my lover, oh  
I need me somebody  
Somebody to treat me right  
I need your arms, loving arms  
To hold me tight _They gaze into each other's eyes. He wants to kiss her again. No! It'll complicate things more.  
_And I need, I need your  
I need your tender lips... _"Um I need to go." he says as the song ends. He sits her down on the bed. "Gotta get ready for tomorrow night."

"About tomorrow, John..." He sees concern in her eyes. "I talked to Shawn. He told me how angry you are, and how you want revenge."

"Look Bischoff and Angle should pay for what they did to you." he insists.

"And you?! I'm not the only one that got assaulted Monday night. I'm as mad as you are. But John _please _don't make things worse by doing something crazy tomorrow night!" she begs.

He makes the mistake of looking into her eyes and can't tell her no. "Okay. No revenge plans for tomorrow night."

"Okay. Good. Just focus on keeping that title outta their hands." she says.

"You got it." He smiles. "I'll see ya Monday. I'll just let myself out."

"Okay. See you Monday." She watches him walk away. Once she hears the door close behind him she grabs her crutches and goes to the phone. "You _will _get our revenge, John."


	9. Chapter 9

_Sunday night_

"Oh no!" she calls staring at the TV. The ref has been knocked out. John tries to revive but to no avail. Kurt kicks John low then hits him with the gold medal. Kurt goes to work on John's ankle as Eric makes his way to ringside. Eric gets in the ring and gets in John's face. He bad mouths John and waves the title in front of him. John makes it to the ropes but Eric kicks his hand off. Kurt drags John back to the center of the ring. Finally, John manages to reverse the Ankle lock, and sends Kurt crashing into Eric. She laughs at the sight of Eric crashing to the outside. John grabs the belt and hits Kurt in the head as the ref comes to. The ref sees it and calls for the bell disqualifying John. She whines. "At least he still has the title." she sighs.

Eric gets back in the ring and tells the ref that he doesn't care what the rules are; he doesn't want the title given back to John. John grabs him and gives him the FU. Kurt attacks John from behind but John fights back and gives Kurt an FU through the Spanish announcers' table. John reenters the ring to retrieve his belt. She smiles as he walks up the ramp holding his title high. This wasn't how she'd hoped the match would go, but at least he had kept his promise to not exact revenge on _her _behalf. "I've already taken care of that." she thinks aloud.

_September 19, 2005 Monday Night Raw_

"It was so awesome seeing you beat Masters last night." Lady tells Shawn.

"Well I knew I had you cheering for me right along with all those fans in the arena." Shawn replies playfully.

"Everything went like I wanted cept... I'm not sure how I feel about Cade and Murdoch." She sighs, "And of course I wish John hadn't got disqualified."

John walks up to Shawn's door. _"Don't make it obvious that you're looking for Lady." _He takes a deep breath and knocks.

The door opens. "Hey John." says Shawn.

"Hey man." John steps inside. His eyes light up at the sight of Lady. _"She's so beautiful." _he thinks looking at her. "Hey, you made it."

"Yeah, I told you I would be here."

John tears his eyes away from her and looks at Shawn. "Um, you ready for the 8-man main event?" he asks.

"You better believe it." Shawn replies.

Lady says, "That match is going to be _awesome._" She stands and grabs her crutches. "And so is Vince's announcement. I'm gonna go find a monitor so I can watch."

Both men are a bit befuddled as to why she's so excited about Vince's announcement but don't question her. "Wait. Stop." John insists stepping in front of her. "Give me those." he says taking her crutches from her. He turns his back to her. "Hop on."

She and Shawn laugh. "You're nuts!" she proclaims.

"Yeah we had this conversation at your house. It's part of my charm remember." She laughs again and hops on his back as he gives her a piggyback ride. "Later man." he tells Shawn.

"Bye." she says.

"See you two later." Shawn laughs as he closes the door behind them.

"You're a 'bad, bad man' NOT!" she exclaims as he carries her down the hall. "You're really just a big softie."

He sits her down, hands her the crutches and flexes his arm. "Who you calling soft?" he jokes.

"Okay, definitely not soft, but you're a big sweetie."

"I can live with sweetie." He looks at the monitor and sees Eric and Kurt in the ring. Eric has a championship belt on his shoulder. "What's Frosty Top doin'?"

"It looks like he's gonna name Angle WWE Champion." she says.

"Oh like hell he is!" He starts to walk away but she grabs his arm.

"Let Vince deal with it." she asserts not taking her eyes off the screen.

John stares at her. What is up with her tonight? Vince's music hits as he makes his way to the ring. Kurt kisses up, and Eric whines about John. Vince tells him he has no authority to strip John of the WWE title. After talking about Homecoming two weeks from tonight he says that there will be a match for the WWE title. It will be John Cena versus... Kurt smiles, then Vince says, "ERIC BISCHOFF!" A look of shock comes to Eric's face.

John is equally shocked, but Lady is beaming! "Wha... what? Me against Frosty Top?!" He looks at her. "You knew didn't you?"

"I didn't know Vince was gonna put the title on the line, but that'll only make it sweeter when you win." She smiles up at him.

"How did you know Vince was gonna do this?"

"I suggested to him."

"When?"

"After you left my house. I called him. I never said that I didn't want you to get revenge! What I said was that I didn't want you to get yourself into anymore trouble with Bischoff. With _his _boss making the match, there's not a whole lot he can do about it."

He takes a hold of her arms and briefly gazes at her lips before kissing her cheek. He pulls her into a tight hug. "You're amazing, you know that?"

She blushes. "See there ya go being a sweetie again." she teases.

"Let's get you off that ankle." he insists. They head to his dressing room for the next little while.

He helps her get comfortable on the couch and makes sure her ankle is supported. "Comfy?" he asks.

"Yeah. I notice you're limping some."

"I'm fine." he insists.

"You're stubborn." she retorts with a grin.

"Yeah, well so are you. You need anything?"

"Yeah. Would you go get my stuff from Shawn?"

"Sure. I'll be right back."

"Hey man!" John says entering Shawn's dressing room.

"Hey." replies Shawn. "I guess you came to get Lady's stuff for her."

"Yeah I did." He sees her purse sitting on a table. As he moves closer he notices the bible with her name on it. He picks the objects up.

"So what's going on with you and Lady?" asks Shawn.

"What are you talking about?" replies John.

"Come on, I saw the way you lit up when you saw her earlier." Shawn insists.

John laughs. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"John, you're holding a bible, don't lie!" Shawn laughs.

Slightly taken aback by the comment, John glances at the bible. "Lady just wants to be friends, so it doesn't matter how I feel." Before Shawn has a chance to say anything else John says, "I better get this to her. See ya later."

He reenters his dressing room and hands Lady her things. "Thank you." she says.

"You're welcome." he replies as she opens her bible. "I've always been interested in the Bible but never read it myself." he says coyly.

"Oh... well we can read it together." she suggests.

He nods. "Okay." He sits beside her as she reads aloud.

Several minutes pass when Lady suddenly looks at her watch. "The interview!" she announces.

"Whoa, yeah I almost forgot!" John says. He stands and again tells hers, "Hop on." She laughs as she complies.

He carries her to where Todd Grisham is interviewing Matt Hardy, Shawn and Big Show... well he was interviewing them until Show took the mic from him. Lady stands next to Matt as John walks on camera and takes over the segment. He promotes the huge 8-man tag-team main event. He goes down the line giving props to each of his teammates. When he reaches her he says, "We have our beautiful cheerleader, the lovely Little Lady." She smiles at the camera.

Once the segment ends and the camera is off she tells the fellas, "I'm gonna walk out with Shawn."

John and Shawn give their okays. "Let's get ready." says Shawn.

Kurt Angle, Chris Masters, Gene Snitsky and Edge are in the ring awaiting their opponents. After Matt and Big Show enter the ring, Lady escorts Shawn. Finally John enters to the ring and the match gets underway. All eight men fight extremely hard and well in the match. Lady watches in awe...Especially when Angle somehow manages to Angle slam Big Show right out of the ring. The tiny woman stares in shock at the enormous man lying at her feet. Shawn is in trouble as the opposing team works on his leg. He ends up alone when all of his partners are taken out. Lady and the crowd cheer for them to get up. Finally an _angry _Big Show makes it to his feet, and Shawn makes the tag! All four men from the other team try to take on Show, but his boys come to his aid! All hell breaks lose as John and Matt throw Snitsky and Masters to the outside. Matt volunteers to be a human bullet as Big Show tosses him over the top rope and onto both men! _"Oh my gosh!" _Lady thinks as she stares in shock. She looks back in the ring; Edge grabs his briefcase but misses John. John nails his spinning backdrop. Then Big Show nails his chokeslam and as he goes to cover Edge, John gets on top of him. _"What in the world?" _she wonders. Matt gets on top of John and Shawn climbs up and sits on Matt's back! Lady laughs but thinks, _"I so would not want to be Edge right now!" _Edge has no chance to kick out and it's all over! As the fellas celebrate in the ring she watches as Edge rolls to the side of the ring. _"I wanted him to lose but ouch, poor guy!" _As Shawn climbs atop Big Show's shoulders he tells John and Matt to get Lady in the ring. She hoists herself up on the apron and rolls under the bottom rope. Matt and John lift her up as they all celebrate with the fans cheering.

The celebrating continues backstage with hugs and hi-fives. Before John and Shawn head off to the showers, Lady says, "I'm gonna head on to the hotel. Watching all that craziness in the ring wore me out!"

The guys laugh. "Okay, I'll see you later." Shawn tells her.

John's heart aches as she tells him, "I'll see you next Monday."

"Yeah." he replies softly. "See you then."

She gives him a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. "Okay, bye."

"Bye." He dashes to the showers hoping to wash his heartache away.

John settles into the bed in his hotel room and closes his eyes. Immediately her face flashes in his mind! His eyes fly open! "You have GOT to get over her! You'll never be more than friends, just stop thinking about her!" he commands himself. He sighs and drifts off to sleep.

They passionately kiss, relishing in the union of their bodies. Her lips trail down his neck to his chest. She sits up and looks into his eyes. "I love you." she breathes.

He sits up and pulls her against him. "I love you, Lady." He shifts their bodies so that he is on top of her, careful not to crush her tiny frame. "I love you more than I say." He reclaims her mouth with his as their pleasure enhances.

The alarm clock brings him back to reality! His eyes shoot open, _"Whoa!" _he thinks. His chest heaves as he pants, trying to catch his breath. "_Where the heck did that come from?" _He _never_ dreamed about sex! He usually just _had _sex!

Even though it was not her fault in any way, it seemed as if Lady had found yet another way of driving him insane!

_September 26, 2005_

As he wonders through the halls of the arena John tells himself, "Stop thinking about that dream!" Not paying attention to where he is going he crashes into her, and she spills to the floor. "Oh gosh, Lady!" He reaches down to help her up. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." She tries to stand but stumbles against him. "It's not your fault." She holds onto him trying to steady her legs but she gives up. She blushes. "Um, could you... carry me to my room?" she asks nervously.

"You okay?" he asks holding her securely.

"It's my legs. If I didn't know better I'd think I hadn't had my B12 shot. They're giving me grief."

"Come on." He scoops her up in his arms. He kicks her crutches against the wall so no one will trip over them. "I'll come back and get em for you."

He carries her into her room and sits her on the couch. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Just been having a rough couple days of weakness and fatigue. But I can handle it." she insists. "How was your week?"

His dream flashes in his mind. He becomes flustered. "Um, it...it was fine! Uh, I'm gonna go...get your crutches." he stammers before leaving the room.

He takes a deep breath to try and steady his racing heart. He feels a hand on his shoulder and jumps. "Geez man!" he yells.

"Whoa! Calm down!" says Shawn. "What's got you so jumpy?"

"It's nothin'." John claims.

"Nothing or just nothing you want to admit?" Shawn asks. John looks at him bewildered.

Meanwhile in Lady's room she reaches for her purse and knocks it in the floor. She groans as she slides off the couch and begins to pick up its scattered contents. She searches for her compact and sees it lying at his feet. She glares at him as she slowly, unsteadily stands. "What do you want?!"

"It's Lady isn't it?" Shawn questions as John picks up her crutches.

"No." John lies. "It's..." His mind races to come up with something. "Bischoff! Just wondering what he's got planned for tonight. No doubt he'll do anything he can to get out of our match next week."

"Uh huh." Shawn's unconvinced. "Sure that's all that's on your mind? Sure you're not thinking about a certain pretty..." He's cut off by Lady's scream!

They rush to her room. She's on the floor, and Masters is standing over her. John grabs him. "Get the hell away from her!" He begins pounding on the guy as they pour out into the hall. They crash into a table, knocking it over! Shawn tends to Lady. He sees her blouse is torn and becomes alarmed! "Did he..."

"No! I...I'm okay." she tells him.

"Are you sure?" Shawn asks.

"Yeah."

"Okay." He helps her back onto the couch then heads off toward the fight, which Carlito has joined in on. Shawn pulls him off of John, and they battle.

Finally Eric and security break up the brawl. "What's going on here?!" Eric demands to know.

"This creep was messing with Lady!" John snaps trying to charge at Masters.

"I didn't hurt her!" Masters claims.

"No you just scared her and ripped her clothes." Shawn retorts sarcastically.

"It was an accident. Tell them!" Masters says looking at Lady, who's now standing in the doorway holding her blouse closed.

"Maybe technically it was an accident, but it wouldn't have happened if you hadn't been in here."

"Well whatever happened, you've all given me a great idea for tonight's main event." says Eric. "You fellas like to brawl so much and break things while you're at it you can take it inside the ring... it'll be Carlito and The Masterpiece Chris Masters taking on the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels and the WWE Champion John Cena...in...a Tables match." Lady quietly groans at the announcement. "Now all of you get outta here, and get ready for your match." demands Eric.

John goes to Lady. "Are you okay?" he asks looking deeply into her eyes. She nods.

"I'll go find you another shirt." Shawn tells her.

"Thank you."

John helps her back to the couch and sits beside her. "You didn't have to defend that guy! If he was trying to hurt you..."  
"He wasn't. I don't think... really." she says.

"What happened?" John asks.

"I spilled everything outta my purse. He was doing his usual attempt at flirting." She rolls her eyes. "He picked up my compact and _finally _gave it to me. He put his hand on my shoulder, and I fell trying to back away from him. That's how my blouse ripped and why I screamed." She laughs. "I think he was actually trying to help me up when you pounced on him."

John laughs. "Well I thought he was trying to hurt you and... you know I can't bear the idea of you getting hurt."

She smiles at him not knowing what to say...For some unexplainable reason she feels so secure when he's around. Shawn comes in and hands her a lavender top wardrobe gave him for her. "Here you go."

"Thanks."

"We'll be right outside." John says standing so they can let her change in private. They step into the hall, and Shawn stares at him. "What?" he asks.

"Why don't you just tell her?" Shawn says.

"There's nothin' to tell." John insists.

"Yeah whatever, man." Shawn laughs.  
"You can come back in now." Lady calls.

John opens the door and steps back inside. Shawn tells them, "I've a got few things to take care of, catch up with you two later."

"Okay, see ya." John says before closing the door. He sees how tired his Lady love looks. "You don't have anything to do until the match, so why don't you take a nap." he suggests.

"Yeah, maybe that'll help." she says. She adjusts herself on the couch as he drapes a shawl over her. "Oh um, since I went out with Shawn last week, I'll go out with you tonight."

"Okay." he replies quietly. "Just rest." He lightly runs his fingers through her hair. Soon she drifts off to sleep.

He watches her sleep and wonders if she's dreaming. His dream floods his thoughts! _"Don't think about her like that! It's not gonna happen!.. But why can't it happen?! I love her! It wasn't just sex, I felt love coming from her!.. We were making love! But it was just a dream, she's doesn't love you." _He knew she was attracted to him, he _knew _it... but it couldn't be more than that...could it? He gazes at the sleeping beauty. _"Nah, I shouldn't." _he thinks. _"Why not?" _he convinces himself.

He sighs and leans his face close to hers. As he's about to kiss her lips she moves. He jumps back, her eyes flutter open. She rolls on to her back and stretches. "Hey." she says when her eyes focus on him.

"Hey. Did you rest well?" he asks.

She takes a deep breath. "Yeah, I think so. Did you watch me sleep?" she asks bashfully.

He blushes. "Uh, yeah...actually I did. You looked so peaceful and beautiful."

"Thank you. What time is it?" she asks.

He looks at his watch. "Time for me to go get ready for the match. I'll come back and get you."

"Well, I'll be here." she says as she sits up and stretches again.

The match is delivers tons of physicality from all four men. At one point John takes off his shirt and chokes Masters with it, slightly surprising Lady. Carlito goes to the outside and takes John down from behind and pulls out a table. Lady moves to another side of the ring. Carlito back drops Shawn to the outside as John works over Masters in the corner. Lady tends to Shawn. She then sees that Masters has John in the Masterlock. She tries to go to his aid but her legs give out on her. Fortunately Shawn comes around and manages to make the save. _Unfortunately _Carlito hits a DDT on Shawn. Carlito hits some right hands on Shawn in the ring as Masters works over John on the outside, sending him into the ring steps. Lady goes to his side. Carlito and Masters drive Shawn into the apron on the outside and then tosses him back in. Masters nails a press slam as Carlito sets up a table on the outside. John came takes Carlito out. John flips the table, as Masters is about to throw Shawn into it. Shawn comes back with chops on Masters but then Masters whipped him hard to the corner and Shawn flips over to the outside. Lady falls trying to go to him. Masters and Carlito work over John on the outside then toss him in the ring. Carlito tosses a table into the ring. Masters sets the table up leaning it against the turnbuckle. Carlito comes in as Masters nails a vertical suplex on John. They go to whip him into the table but out of nowhere Shawn spears John before he hits the table! Lady stares in shock. Lady's boys then hit stereo mounted punches in opposite corners. Masters and Carlito are whipped into each other and then Michaels and Cena hit stereo slams. Lady is surprised, as are the fans when both John and Shawn do the five-knuckle shuffle and then Shawn clotheslines Carlito outside. John hits the FU on Masters and sets the table up in the middle of the ring. Kurt and Eric hit the ring and Shawn takes Kurt down on the outside, Kurt then gets in the ring and nails John, as he is about to put Masters through the table. Shawn goes for an elbow from the top onto Masters who was on the table but Kurt pushes him off to the outside through a table! Lady goes to his aid! The bell rings declaring Carlito and Masters the winners. John goes for the FU on Kurt through the table but Eric gives him a low blow then Kurt Angle slams him through the table! Eric badmouths John and Kurt hands him the WWE title. Eric stares at it then holds it high as he stands over John and Kurt mouths off to Shawn. Lady can't stand the sight of Eric with the WWE title. Though Shawn tries to stop her she weakly crawls into the ring. She manages to stand and tosses one of her crutches at Eric causing him to stumble and drop the belt. She falls but quickly grabs the belt and gives it to John who she sees is bleeding. Lady tends to the Champ as Eric glares at the woman who's determined to keep him from destroying Cena.


	10. Chapter 10

_September 30, 2005_

Lady finishes her email, none of her friends are online and she's bored out of her mind. She decides to google her name to see if there are any fan sites dedicated to her. She's surprised when she sees the growing list. One in particular catches her eye: "Thugonomics of love- The saga of John Cena and Little Lady"

"What?" She clicks the link. She sees a picture of John and a screen cap of her.

The third picture makes her gasp; it's a screen cap of her holding a bloody John after Chris hit him with that camera. It's captioned; "Lady embracing John after he received a hard camera shot by Chris Jericho." The summary of the site says, "This is a fan site dedicated to WWE Champion John Cena and WWE Diva Little Lady: The Future It Couple of the WWE!"

Lady laughs. "I don't believe this."

She clicks on the message board. "OMG...Lady and John should so be a couple...they'd be the cutest couple ever to grace the face of the WWE!" reads one message.

Another says, "I think they should hook up... it's really buggin' me how they aren't romantic yet! If Vince were smart he'd make Jady a tag team of love!"

"_Jady?" _Lady questions. _"Tag team of love? Wow! These people are serious!"_

She goes back to the main page and sees a fanfic of the same title as the site. It's subtitled, "A modern day Romeo and Juliet."

"_Okay, how are John and I like Romeo and Juliet?" _she wonders. She reads and becomes even more intrigued. The setup of the story is that Lady has secretly had a crush on John..._"Okay, kinda!" _But Chris and Eric kept interfering so "Jady" could not be together. The final straw for Lady was the handicap match where John went up against Chris and Carlito in Montreal... To her utter shock in the story Montreal is where she and John share their first kiss, as was the case in real life.

She reads: "Lady cries. 'I can't do this anymore.' She strokes John's face. 'I can't let them keep us apart.'

John pulls her close and wipes a tear off her face with his thumb. 'You know how much I want to be with you, but I can't let them hurt you.' he tells her.

'But don't you understand?' she asks. 'There is nothing they can do to that would hurt me more than I'm already hurting! I _need _to be with you, John!' She runs her finger over his bottom lip. "I love you." she whispers before capturing his lips with hers. He hugs her tighter as they become lost in the kiss."

Lady also becomes lost the kiss. The three kisses she and John have shared flood her mind! She shakes her head and sighs. She takes a big gulp of water. "I can't be anymore than friends with John. Yeah, I'm attracted to him...I wouldn't have kissed him otherwise...but I love Nate...and I can't be with anyone else right now." She sighs again. "Okay...no more thinking about that!." She goes to and sees that the latest "5 Questions with the Champ" is up.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Pets domestic and exotic. Children of all ages. Welcome back to another edition of Five Questions with the Champ. Just to let you know we are blowing it up and I do apologize for the re-run last week. Tonight, we are making up in spade with five brand new questions from five brand new people. The hits are way up, .Com is connected. You realize this is the spot where you can get the inside track to what I'm thinking and that's a bad, bad thing." John starts off the segment.

Lady laughs. _"This boy is NUTS!.. but that really a part of his charm." _

He's totally adorable trying to talk a young gal out of her grounding so she can watch Homecoming. After explaining why he would want Randy Orton as his tag team partner it's time for question three. "Ohh, wow from Samayoa and this one's tough. We about to get personal here on Five Questions with the Champ. Mr. Cena, who was your first love of your life?" Lady could swear her heart skipped a beat! She literally sits on the edge of her sit awaiting his answer. "Interesting story. A girl named Liz. Met her when I was seventeen. I graduated from high school, she was still in high school, a senior at that. My brother actually, was interested in seeing her. The very first time I saw her I came up from college vacation, got out of the car and this hot chick passes me at the walkway of my house, the house that everything goes down in, the Right Now video.. wake up. Beautiful. My brother's kind of like courting her but not throwing his game on. So I see her and I'm like 'Yo, where are you going?' She said "I'm going to this party, you on?" Only if you going to be there. Long story short we show up at the party, I end up driving her home. As I drive her home we pull into the driveway of her house and I haven't made a move on her nothing haven't run game on her nothing. I turn to her in a very Ron Burgundy way and I say, actually Joe Namith, 'Can I kiss you?' and she says yes. We make out for about a half-hour. I'm talking good old 70's shag rug make out party." Lady laughs but rolls her eyes. "What happened? I ended up seeing her for six years."

"_Six years?!" _Lady thinks.

"I was engaged to her."

"_What?!"_

"Had to break off the engagement because.. it just didn't work out. Liz, if you're watching and listening, I still love you to this day. You'll always have a space in my heart."

"_Wow!" _John just didn't seem like the long-term relationship kinda guy to her. He actually seemed like he'd be a... well... apparently she was wrong about him once again. She didn't know why but her heart was racing!

"Question Number 4 from Denise: Wow, people are hitting home. It's usually the chicks, I'm not going to judge. You know guys we all have personality but it's the chicks. Denise writes: Hey John! Throughout life we have unforgettable moments. My question is what is your most unforgettable moment in your life and why? I hope you've been paying attention to Five Questions with the Champ because this unforgettable moment goes back to the question I just answered, who is the love of my life. I was seeing this girl Liz and I was pretty serious. So serious, that I spent more time with her then I did with my family. Ya'll saw the video you know how I feel about my family but these were through very important years of my life. My parents had been married 27 years and were going through a tough divorce. No credit to me, I wasn't there for either of them because I was too busy falling in love with this young lady. Well, one night it kind of boiled over at my house and uhh for the very first time in my life, I could remember it like it was yesterday, I was nineteen years old. My dad and I actually got into a fight. Umm, before I was nineteen, you know as a kid he used to beat me up when I did wrong. "

"_Beat you?"_ The thought tears at Lady's heart.

"As a teenager when maybe physically we didn't match up he used to make me do chores. As an eighteen or nineteen year old, I got that puffy stomach, puffy chest, yeah pop I'll whoop your ass. Well, the day came. I was nineteen years old uhh.. I wanted to spend the night out with my girlfriend and my dad was very against it. As a manner of fact, he was against it and he was against her. It was put up or shut up time for me and umm we got into it. And I ended up beating the hell out of my dad." Those words literally take Lady's breath away and she begins shaking. "And it was only when I saw him laying there that I realized it was the stupidest thing I had ever done because girlfriends do come and go as severe as that is, but I can't have another father.. I can't have another mother, my blood is my blood. So I picked him up off the ground, took him back in the house. We cried together for about a half an hour. That was the very first time at nineteen that I told my dad I loved him. That's because I realized how much I loved him and cared for him. Even though it was a tough time. That was a very unforgettable moment in my life because it let me know that the people surrounding me were good people and they would never let me down. It's getting crazy here on Five Questions bro. I'm shaking look at that."

For the next half-hour to forty-five minutes Lady shakes and is on the verge of tears. "Oh my gosh, John." she whispers. Seeing him reveal himself like that was a shock. He didn't have to be so open with his fans yet he was. Seeing the "Right Now" video she'd never imagined he had family issues. And she was still astonished by the information about the ex-fiancee. "You're something else, Mr. Cena." she thinks aloud.

_October 3, 2005 Homecoming_

As soon as she spots him she rushes toward him. She touches his arm, and he turns to face her. "Oh hey..." he says as she flings her arms around his neck. He hugs her back stunned. He enjoys having the woman he loves in his arms but why was she clinging to him?

Finally she pulls away. She blushes and laughs. "Um...I watched the new 5 questions the other night." She looks into his eyes. "It...was...incredible. The way you put yourself out there...wow!" she says in a soft voice.

"Well, I want the fans to feel like they know me." John says.

She nods. "That story about your dad..."

John takes a deep breath. "Yeah, that was kinda tough to relive."

She strokes his cheek with her hand and is silent for a moment. She takes his hand and steps closer to him. "About your ex...I don't know what happened but...When the time is right you'll find the right woman."

His heart is beating so fast that he can almost hear it. "I have!" The words fly out of his mouth before he can stop them. _"Oh no, what did I just say?" _"Um I...I have a feeling that you're right." he stammers. "_Woo, nice cover." _"When the time is right."

"Yeah." she affirms. "You changed shirts! Wow!" she teases staring at his dark blue sweatshirt.

He laughs. "Yeah." He finally notices her outfit. Black, suede boots, black dress pants, and a satiny, silver top that shows just enough cleavage to be sexy, not sleazy. She's using a cane to help with her almost healed ankle. "Wow! You're looking hot tonight, Beautiful!"

Her heart flutters at what has apparently become his nickname for her. "Thank you." she responds. "So tonight's probably gonna be wild!" she changes the subject.

"I don't doubt it!" he replies.

"Well I better go find Shawn. I'll catch up with you later." He nods then watches his love walk away.

Randy sees John staring at a monitor and walks up. "Hey man!"

John snaps out of his daze long enough to respond, "Uh hey." He stares back at the screen.

Randy begins to follow John's eyes. He grins when he realizes whose movements John's eyes are tracking. "So, how's Lady doing tonight?"

"Huh? What? Oh...She's fine, I saw her earlier. HBK and Angle are kicking each other's asses though." John says with a laugh.

Randy laughs, "Dude, you know you haven't been watching the match."

"Have too." John replies not taking his eyes off the screen.

"Okay, so what's the score?" Randy asks.

John tries to answer but he actually hasn't been focusing on the match at all. He groans, "Hell I don't know." He walks to his dressing room, and Randy follows.

"So you got bad for her, huh?" Randy asks sitting across from his friend.

John laughs. "That's an understatement."

Randy asks, "Have you told her?"

"It's kinda hard to tell a girl you love her when she's made it clear she only wants to be friends." John insists.

"Maybe she's just saying that cause she thinks that's all you want." suggests Randy.

"_Maybe he's right." _John thinks. "No man! As much as I wish you were right, Lady and I can't be anything more. Now can we please change the subject."

"Alright, fine." replies Randy. For the next several moments the friends catch up with one another. Randy sees Lady out in the hallway. "There's your Lady."

John's heart skips a beat as he turns and looks out the door.

Randy stands to leave. "Well John.. the time to let her know..." He raises an eyebrow. "is now..." John laughs. "so don't screw it up.." Randy states. "See ya later."

"Later man." John takes a deep breath. "Okay! Let's do this!" He gets up and heads out the door. Lady's walking away. "Lady!"

She turns. "Hey." she replies as he walks toward her.

"Where you headin'?" he asks.

"I was gonna go catch up with my Smackdown buddies. "You need something?"

"_You." _he thinks. "No, um...we'll talk later."

"Okay." she says before walking away.

John shakes his head and goes back to his dressing room. _"Smooth Cena! You just passed up another chance to tell her. No! It's probably best I don't tell her. If I tell her, I might scare her off. I'd rather be just friends than nothing at all." _

"Hi Mr. McMahon." Lady says being friendly toward her boss.

"Hello Lady." She starts to walk past him as he stops her. "Listen, I need you at WWE Headquarters tomorrow afternoon."

She perplexed. "Um, okay. May I ask why?"

"Oh there's no need to worry." he assures her. "I just have a few ideas I want to talk over with you and a few other people."

"Okay. I'll be there." she says. _"I wonder what's up."_

He removes his earphones and nearly jumps out of his skin when she comes in ranting, "I can't believe Bischoff!" He looks at her puzzled. "He stopped the Smackdown match! I was so looking forward to..." As she tries to step around him her foot tangles in the strap of his backpack and she falls...right into his lap. "that." she says softly.

Their hearts race. "Well nothing Bischoff does really surprises me anymore." John says.

Their lips are millimeters apart. They Eskimo kiss trying to fight the magnetism that is pulling them together. "Hey Champ...whoa!" It's none other than the Champ's hero Hulk Hogan. "Sorry I interrupted."

Lady jumps up. "I'm going...to...go...somewhere." she stammers. "Catch up with you before your match." she tells John. "Excuse me." She slips past Hogan and out the door.

"Soo..." Hogan walks over and sits beside of John. "What's going on with the two of you?"

John's silent for a moment before answering. "I'm honestly not sure. She kissed me then said she just wanted to be friends. Then these feelings started growing!"

"Have you told her?" Hogan asks.

"No! I don't wanna mess up our friendship."

"Well lemme tell you something brother..." Hogan begins to advise the younger man. "She might just be the one. The only way you'll ever find out is by letting her know how you feel."

John ponders the advice. He knew Hogan was right, but at the same time he was afraid of losing her. Yes, he John Cena was afraid of something.

Lady meets up with John just as he's about to into the gorilla position. "Hey."

"Hey Beautiful." he replies. _"Now's not the time to tell her."_

"Are you okay?" she asks. He seems distant.

"Yeah, just waiting to get this match started."

"Well Angle's got Bischoff's back, and I've got yours." she tells him.

He laughs sarcastically. "Yeah, last time you had my back you..."

She covers his mouth with her hand. "Yeah, I got hurt. But it was worth it."

"_What exactly does she mean by that?" _he wonders but doesn't have time to question as his music starts.

John does his best to watch both Eric and Kurt. Before the match gets underway, Kurt grabs a chair. He unfolds it and offers to let Lady sit in it. Not buying his act of generosity she walks to another side of the ring. Once the match starts Eric tries to kick John but John catches his leg. John gives him some nice shots before tangling with Kurt. "John!" Lady calls but doesn't get his attention before Eric lands a kick to his ribs. Eric gets in a few more good shots before John manages to come back. Kurt enters the ring and attempts to Angle Slam John but John counters and goes for the FU. Eric low blows John. Kurt brings the chair in, John sees and side steps him. The chair hits the top rope, bounces and hits Kurt in the face. Lady laughs! Eric reaches for the chair but John steps on it. He FU's Eric and makes the pin. Kurt reenters the ring and he and John brawl until Smackdown General Manager Teddy Long comes out to the stage. He rants about Eric stopping the Smackdown match and then sends out his troops to pounce on John and Kurt. Eric gets back in the ring. Batista sets him up for the Batista Bomb but turns him loose when more of the Raw roster come to the ring. _"Darn, I was looking forward to that." _Lady thinks to herself. The night ends with the two groups brawling.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Song credit goes to BoyzIIMen.

_The next day at WWE Headquarters_

"_What the heck is she doing here?" _John thinks when he sees her. "Lady?"

"Hi." They hug.

"What are you doing here?" he asks.

"I have no idea! Vince just said he had some ideas he wanted to go over." she replies.

"Yeah, that's what he told me too. I figured it was about the Smackdown ordeal from last night."

"Well that doesn't have anything to do with me."

"I know. Ya know I actually thought I saw you in the airport, but I thought nah!" He laughs. "Didn't expect you here." he tells her.

She laughs. "Well I'm just as surprised as you are. I'm also lost! Where's the conference room?"

He laughs. "Come on." he says taking a hold of her hand. He instinctively intertwines their fingers. They enter the room and right away see Chris Masters. "What are _you _doing here?" John hisses, protectively holding onto Lady.

Before Masters can answer, Lady says, "Lemme guess...all you were told is that Vince wants to talk over some ideas."

"Exactly." he replies.

"_I'm not liking this." _she thinks.

Just then Vince walks in. "Good, you're all here." Lady and John take their seats. "First thing I want to address..." he looks at Lady. "Lady, a lot of fans have inquired about your illness and witnessed some of its effects onscreen. Would you mind talking about it in detail in the next edition of Raw magazine?"

"No. I don't mind at all." she says. _"He made me come all the to Connecticut for that?"_

"Now, both you and young Masters are raising stars in the WWE. John, you're having an incredible championship run. I was thinking of a way we could tie all of that together. What do you all say to a "till death do us part" match?"

All three of them stare at him completely confounded! "Hold on..." John says. He points at Masters. "He's been harassing Lady."

"I didn't harass her!" Masters insists.

"True." Lady says. "But you definitely bugged the heck outta me!"

"I'm sure he's very sorry about that. Aren't you?" Vince stares at him.

Masters glares at Lady. "Yeah, sure. I'm sorry."

"Well thank you for that heartfelt apology." she retorts.

Vince tells them; "Well it seems there is a big Internet movement wanting a _Jady _pairing."

"Jady?" John and Masters question.

"John and Lady." Lady replies. "Ya know like 'Bennifer'."

"As I was saying..." Vince says. "If Cena wins we'll have a super couple. If Masters wins we'll have a nice feud."

Lady's left hand begins to switch. Her heart races. She hasn't had a panic attack in a while but feels a big one coming on. "I can't do this!" she says trying to catch her breath.

John sees how agitated she is becoming and puts his arm around her. He asks Vince, "Can I get her outta here for a few minutes?"

"Of course." Vince replies. He doesn't want anything to hurt his new starlet.

John takes her into an empty office. "Okay, take some deep breaths." She does as he says. "Better?"

Lady nods. "Yeah. I'm okay." She sighs. "I just never thought when I started working for the WWE that I would become the prize in a match. All the traveling, I don't think I can handle that. And there is NO way I'm working with Masters!"

He pulls her into his arms. "Shh, calm down." he whispers. She feels so safe in his arms. He looks down at her. "Listen to me, Masters _won't _win."

"John, you never promise to win matches, just to do your best."

"I promise I'll win this one. I'm not gonna lose my Lady to the likes of Masters."

She smiles. "Well the fans would love to see Jady together. I found a website the other night. Wow!"

"Really? What was on this site?"

"Message board. A..." She blushes. "Romantic fan fiction."

John smiles at the thought. "Nice. So what do you say we give the fans what they want?"

She sighs. "What about the traveling? I'm just not sure. I mean don't get me wrong the places Raw is going to soon, I'd love to see."

"Beautiful, you know I will do anything I can to prevent anything bad from happening to you. So, let's try this. I'll talk to Vince...if the traveling and all that is too hard on you, we'll make the necessary changes."

She knows that John will take care of her, and the idea of being a real part of Raw was intriguing. "Okay, let's do this." she says.

They head back to the conference room. "Are you alright, Lady?" Vince asks.

"Yes, I'm okay. I'll do it."

She looks at John who says, "But if the traveling gets to be too much for her..."

"We'll make accommodations." Vince insists. "So what do you men say to being the main event next Monday night?"

John and Masters agree. Lady asks, "Do you need me to do anything else before then?"

"No." Vince replies. "You're free until then. We'll meet back here next Tuesday to work on the story and schedule. Now if there's nothing more we need to discuss you can all be on your way."

After Vince leaves Masters walks over to Lady and John. "Get used to not having her on your side." he tells John. "Bye Gorgeous." he says reaching out to Lady. John grabs his arm before he can touch her. The men have a short stare-off before Masters frees himself from John's grasp and walks out of the room.

"You okay?" John asks Lady.

"Yeah. So other than the weekend shows, what do you have to do this week?" she asks.

"Got an autograph session tomorrow afternoon in New York City."

"Cool." she replies. "You know any good place to have lunch? I'm hungry."

"There's a lot of good places around here. What do you want?" he asks.

"Something light. I'm gonna work out later."

"There's a great sandwich place near by."

"Sounds good."

"Let's go."

In the gym, John spots as she works with free weights. He sits behind her on the bench, making sure she's in the right position. Suddenly, he notices something.

Lady responds to his thoughts before he even speaks them. "What you never noticed before?" Her shoulders are rounded; the right one sits slightly higher than the left. "Scoliosis." she says. "My spine is now straight, but I can't get rid of some abnormalities."

"No, I honestly hadn't noticed." John tells her. "I think you are an absolutely stunning woman."

She feels his breath on the back of her neck.

"Thank you." she replies.

"You ready?" he asks.

She nods. As she begins the exercises her mind races, _"What is it about him?! I feel so comfortable with him, like I never have with any guy... any PERSON ever." _

She feels him holding her wrists and snaps out of her thoughts. "Good thing I was counting." he says. "You wandered off there for a minute."

She laughs coyly, "Yeah."

After their workout they go back to his hotel room."Did you mean what you said?" she asks. "You really never noticed my abnormalities?"

He pulls her into his arms. "I meant it. To me you're the most beautiful woman in the world." He leans down. "Let me prove that to you." he whispers. He takes her lips with his and slowly works his tongue into her mouth. She moans against his lips and places her hands on the back of his head to deepen the kiss. He pulls back. "I love you. I love you so much." He resumes the kiss as he slowly lifts her shirt. His hands slide up over her barreled ribcage and lightly squeeze her breasts. She gasps! He breaks the kiss again and removes her shirt. Her looks into her eyes, seeking permission to continue. She smiles. He strips her of her bra. He takes her hand and pulls her over to the bed. She lies back and watches as he strips down to his boxers. She feels pure bliss as he kisses and caresses her all over. "John..." she sighs. He looks into her loving eyes. "Make love to me." she pleads. With that he rids them of the rest of their clothing and claims her body.

_Uhh ahh _

_Uhh ahh_

_Uhh ahh_

_Uhh ahh_

_The love I have right next to me _

_Is here and always will be _

_I'm caressing your body emotionally _

_As you can feel and will see _

_Why can't we go all the way to the top _

_The fullest extreme _

_The sounds I hear when you're with me _

_Express the way that you feel, girl _

_As you say - _

_Uhh ahh_

_Uhh ahh_

_Uhh ahh_

_Uhh ahh_

_In our passion sent we move in close _Their bodies shift so that she is on top of him.

_The love that we share is the same _"I love you." she whispers causing him to further lose his senses.

_I can tell when I reach down deep inside _He grasp her hips and holds her in place as he rocks her tiny frame.

_You show it when you call out my name _She throws her head and moans. "John!"

_Squeezing you tight and holding you close _

_Is all I feel inside _

_Although I try to hold in my love _

_It's something that I just can't hide _"Oh Lady!" he groans as she takes control.

_Uhh ahh_

_Uhh ahh_

_Uhh ahh_

_Uhh ahh_

_Uhh ahh_

_Uhh ahh_

_Uhh ahh_

_Uhh ahh_

_The music is low _

_The lights are dim, there we lie _

_Passion overflows _

_With every look in your eyes _

_Infatuation, lust _

_And a lot of love _

_Sweet caresses _

_Yes, it's good to be true _

_Enclench my back _

_Ecstasy fills the air _

_As you kiss on my neck _

_And stroke the back of my hair _

_To hold you tonight _

_I feel this is, my duty _

_To grasp, to hold _

_To rock that place _

_Uhh ahh_

_Uhh ahh_

_Give it to me, baby _

_I'll rub your back _

_Uhh ahh_

_Uhh ahh_

_As you lay here with me, yeah oh _

_I want you and I need you _

_Uhh ahh_

_Uhh ahh_

_Hold on to me, yeah _

_Right now, baby, oh, oh _

_Uhh ahh_

_Uhh ahh_

_Please, baby, stay with me _

_Oh I can do it to you _

_The way that nobody else can babe _

As they both reach their climax they cling to each other, not wanting the moment to end. His body aches from the heated exchange. He kisses her cheek and nips her earlobe. "I love you so much, Lady." He closes his eyes and relishes in the warmth of her body under him. Then the feeling changes...He opens his eyes to find himself alone. He sits up. "Oh no way!" The passionate moment _hadn't _really happened. He holds his head in his hands and tries to steady his breathing. "How could it have been a dream?" It had been the best sex he _never _had! He collapses back onto the bed and sighs; "I'm losing my mind!"


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews folks. I'm glad you're enjoying it.

She jumps back when he opens the door before she even knocks. He blushes a deep red at the sight of her.

"Hey." she says.  
"Hey." he replies not looking at her.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to get some breakfast. I don't have to leave for two hours.

"Yeah. I got another couple hours before I gotta head out. I was on my way to breakfast actually." he says still not looking straight at her. He steps out of the room and closes the door behind him.

"_What is wrong with him?" _she wonders. "Are you okay?"

He finally looks at her. "Uh yeah. I'm just tired; I didn't rest well last night."

"I hate those kinda nights. Dreaming crazy stuff and can't figure out why."

"_Oh I know exactly why I dreamed what I did." _he thinks as they head toward the elevator.

John is very quiet during breakfast; and this concerns Lady. She reaches across the table and lays her hand over top of his. He looks into her eyes. "Are you really okay?" she asks. "If there is anything wrong you can tell me. I don't know if I'll be of any help, but I'm willing to listen if you wanna talk." She cares a lot about him and wants him to feel as comfortable with her as she feels with him.

He smiles. _"Why can't I just tell her how I feel?" _He thinks. "I'm really okay, Lady. Thanks for caring."

"That's what friends are for." she says.

The statement sends his heart dropping to his stomach. "Yeah." he replies softly. _"And **that **is why I can't tell you that I'm in love with you."_

As the chauffeurs pack up their respective limos, John and Lady say their goodbyes. "What are you gonna be doing on your days off?" John asks.

"Training actually." she states. "Hopefully I can get back in the ring soon."

"Well please make it against one of the other Divas." John pleads.

She laughs. "Okay. Yeah um, going against Angle and Tomko was probably insane...but I'd do it again."

"Ready to go, Miss?" asks one of the chauffeurs.

"Yes. Just a moment." She turns back to John. "So I guess the next time we see each other we'll be getting engaged."

He chuckles. "Yeah!" He felt a spark at the idea of marrying her...of course that couldn't happen without dating first. _"We're friends." _he tells himself. _"She doesn't wanna be anything more." _"Well take care." He gives her a tight hug.

"Bye." she says before climbing into her limo.

He climbs into his limo as his heart aches. As the drive begins, his chauffeur tells him, "You know my son would be more excited if I were driving Lady rather than you."

John laughs. "Favorite Diva huh?"

"Oh yes. He's 8-years-old, and she's his first crush."

"Well he's got great taste." John replies. _"Incredible taste." _

John heads to the showers after his match. Upon entering the locker room he sees Shawn. "Hey man." John says.

"Hey." Shawn replies. "Lady tells me that you and Masters will be wrestling for _her _Monday night."

"Yep. And I promised her that I _will _win."

"Well that's great. But what you didn't do was tell her how you feel."

John is silent for a moment. "Is it obvious to everyone but her?"

"Apparently so." Shawn answers.

"Look I want to tell her." says John. "It's just that...We haven't really known each other for that long. I can't even explain why I fell in love with her considering I don't know much about her."

"It doesn't matter how long you've known her for, John. You can't choose who you fall in love with or when it happens, it just happens." Shawn reassures him.

"I know that. Look, you're her best friend...Can you promise me that telling her won't hurt the relationship I do have with her?" John asks.

"I can't promise she'll feel the same way you do. But trust me, I know Lady well enough to know that you telling her how you feel will be the best thing for her." Shawn insists. _"I just pray that she'll see it that way."_

John sighs. "Okay! I'll tell her! As soon as I see her again."

"Good. Trust me she needs to know."

_October 10, 2005 Monday Night Raw_

He sees her standing afar off, and takes a deep breath. _"You can do this." _he tells himself. His heart races. _"Okay, just calm down." _He nervously straightens out his open jersey and finally walks over to her.

He touches her arms. She spins around and yells, "WOULD YOU LEAVE ME ALO..." He jumps back. When she realizes it's John, she wraps her arms around his waist and lays her cheek against his bare chest. "I'm sorry." she whispers.

He wraps his arms around her. "It's okay." he assures her. He steps back and lifts her chin. "What's wrong, Beautiful?"

"Masters and Bischoff being their usual, annoying selves. And I'm...just not feeling that great."

"The Fibromyalgia." he assumes as he gently tugs on her pigtails.

"Um, not exactly." She hesitates. "Maybe you should be warned incase I freak out again...I'm PMSing."

John laughs. "Okay, thanks for the warning." He suddenly notices the phrase on her shirt; "I'm so great I'm jealous of myself."

She laughs too. "Hey I got the blahs; I was trying to perk myself up."

He laughs again and thinks, _"Maybe now isn't a good time to tell her. No! I've gotta do this." _"Come here." he tells her. He leads her to his dressing room. "Are you having second thoughts about tonight?" he asks.

"No. I mean I know you'll keep your promise."

"I will!" He nervously twirls one of her pigtails around, which she finds oddly relaxing. "You are _so _beautiful." She looks into his eyes. "Lady, you...are...an _amazing _person."

"_Why do people keep saying things like that about me?" _she wonders. _"It's not true. I wish it was but it's not. I'm not such a wonderful person."_

John says, "I know we haven't known each other that long, but something I do know is..."

"Champ..." a Raw crewman barges in. "Chaos in Carlito's Cabana, you should get out there."

"What's going on?" John asks.

"HBK, Angle and Edge, along with Big Show and Carlito are arguing over who should get a shot at your title."

John turns back to Lady. "Stay back here." She nods as he heads out of the room.

She watches on a backstage monitor and is disgusted by John's comments to the other superstars. When he returns backstage she berates him, "Why don't you be a little more vulgar next time?! But I guess I should be a little bit grateful you weren't as nasty with Shawn as you were with the others!" He looks at her unsure of whether or not to respond. "Oh this isn't the PMS talking, it's me! I just don't appreciate all that...well you know what you did!" She starts to walk away.

He takes a hold of her arm. "Whoa, whoa." She turns to face him. "I'm sor..."

"No you're not!" He doesn't say anything and just pulls her into a hug. She starts to fight then submits and snuggles against him. How could this guy who's so opposite from her make her feel so comfortable? She closes her eyes and listens to his heartbeat. She begins to relax even though she is still upset with him.

He rests his chin on top of her head. "Lady, I would never do anything that I knew would hurt you." He pulls back from her a little and looks into her eyes. "That's why I wasn't as nasty to Shawn as I was to the others. I know his Christian views and respect that. I got a lot of respect _you_, Beautiful." He scolds himself, _"Just tell her, man!" _"Lady, I..."

"Can you two be ready in ten minutes?" asks Stephanie McMahon.

"For what?" Lady asks.

"Change of plans. The "till death do us part" match is next."  
"But it's supposed to be the main event." John points out.

"You will still be in the main event." Steph reveals. "Eric got an idea from what just took place. You, Shawn and Big Show v. Angle, Carlito and Edge."

"You're giving John _two _matches tonight?" Lady inquires, puzzled.

"Yeah. You can handle it can't you Champ?" Steph asks John.

"Yeah. No problem."

"Good. So get ready." Steph says before walking away.

"What's wrong?" John asks his love.

"You do realize Eric is doing this to cause trouble for you?" she affirms.

"How you figure that?"

"You'll either be so focused on beating Masters that you won't have much left for the main event. Or you'll be focused on the main event and lose to Masters...which would hurt me and Eric would love that too."

John takes Lady in his arms again. "Well I am going to beat Masters, and I'll have Shawn and Big Show to help me out in the main event. Don't worry! Let's get ready to head out there."

John and Lady wait in the gorilla position for the match to begin. They hear Masters' music begin then Lilian say, "The following is a till death do us part match. Now in this match, the winner will gain Little Lady's hand in marriage. Making his way to the ring..."

Lady grips onto John's arm to dear life and looks into his amazing eyes. "Promise me again that you're going to win."

He caresses her cheek and whispers, "I promise I will win." His music starts. "You ready?" She takes a deep breath and nods.

Lady stands at ringside as John slides in. Masters glares at her but John blocks his view. "You're not getting her." John insists.

Both guys put up a heck of a fight. Lady becomes even more nervous. When Masters manages to get John in the masterlock John works his way backward to the ropes. Lady hops up on the apron and digs her nails into Masters' shoulders. He turns John loose and grabs for her as she jumps back down. John whips Masters to the center of the ring, nails him with a killer clothesline. Five-knuckle shuffle, FU and it's over! Excited, Lady climbs inside the ring and wraps herself around John. She captures his lips in a short, yet passionate kiss, catching them both off-guard. John hugs his Lady tightly before scooping her up in his arms. He lifts her over the ropes and sits her down on the apron. He climbs out of the ring and helps her down before they head backstage.

"Well look at the happy couple!" Shawn says when he sees them. "Great match."

"Thanks." replies John. "I'm gonna go get cleaned up. Catch up with you later." Before walking away he mouths to Shawn, "She doesn't know."

Shawn follows Lady to her room. "So are you looking forward to the wedding next week?"

She sighs. "Kind of. It all seems so surreal. But I know that John's looking out for me."

"Yeah, you're right there. John will take care of you. Are you sure that you're ok with this whole wedding thing though? Considering the feelings you have for John?"

"What feelings? We're friends." she insists.

"And what was that kiss out there?" Shawn persists.

"I got caught up in the moment."

"Come on, Lady. This is me you're talking to. I'm not buying that you and John are just friends for one second. And if it were just a crush then you wouldn't be as relaxed with him as you are."

"Have you forgotten that I'm in love with someone else?" Lady snaps.

"Lady, I think that you were in love with Nate for so long that now you're just in love with the idea of being in love with him." Lady looks at him perplexed. "It's obvious you have feelings for John. Stop denying it."

"I don't wanna talk about this anymore. I'm gonna go watch the Divas match."

After she leaves the room, Shawn goes to find John. "So why haven't you told her?"

"I tried! Twice!" John states. "I kept getting interrupted."

"Well then keep trying until you finally get to tell her." Shawn tells him. "John, she needs to know."

After the 6-man tag-team match John is furious over being pinned by Angle. Lady tries to comfort him. "It was so cool when you reversed the ankle lock."

"Yeah, a lot of good it did me." her replies.

"Well maybe if you hadn't had to fight for me earlier..."

"Lady, there was no way I was gonna let Masters have you. If getting pinned by Angle is the price I had to pay, so be it. I'm gonna shower then we'll head to the hotel."

"I think I'll go ahead and get washed up so I can just crash when we get there. See ya in a bit."

"_You have to tell her." _he tells himself as he heads to her dressing room. He steps through the open door and chuckles softly as he walks over to the couch. He kneels next to her and runs his fingers through her hair. "I love you." he whispers. "But I guess saying it doesn't count if you're not awake to hear it." He lifts her in his arms and smiles when she nuzzles her face against his neck.

_The next morning_

He meets her in the hotel lobby. "Good morning, sleepy head."

She laughs. "How did I get in my room last night?"

"I carried you. I can't believe you slept through the limo ride and everything."

"Well thanks." she says. "Ready to go plan our wedding?"

"Yeah. Are you?"

"Yeah. I'm starting to get used to the idea of becoming Mrs. Champ."  
"Mrs. Champ?" He laughs. "Nice, I like it."

_On the plane_

She groans. "What's wrong?" John asks.

"I'm sleepy again! After I rested so well last night."

"Come here." He puts his arm around her, and she lays her head on his shoulder. "Just take a little nap."

"You don't think I'm lazy?" she asks.

"No. I don't." he insists. "Now rest." He kisses her forehead as she closes her eyes. Soon she's asleep. He closes his eyes and the dream from last week floods his mind. His eyes shoot open. _"Don't get ahead of yourself, man."_

He notices an elderly woman looking at them. "You two make a lovely couple." she says smiling.

"Um...thank you."

_WWE Headquarters_

"Is there anything specific either of you would like in the story?" Vince asks.

John shakes his head no. Lady says, "There's actually something I would like to NOT be in the story."

"What is it?" Vince inquires.

"I don't want any sexual talk, between John and me or about us. I don't believe in sex before marriage..." John nearly strangles on his coffee. "REAL marriage. And then I think it's a private matter between the couple."

"That's fine." replies Vince. "Is that okay with you John?"

John clears his throat. "Yeah. Fine, I don't wanna do anything that will bother Lady." He had never thought about if she was a virgin or not. It just never came to him. He thought it was sweet, but at the same time, frustrating... Especially after the dreams he'd had. He loved her, he knew that. _But no sex? _She had no idea that she was killing him! Let alone torturing him along the way. And they weren't even an item! Yet...

_Friday_

Today would be the first time John's seen Lady since the meeting at headquarters. His mind was still spinning over her no sex bombshell. "You _still _haven't told her." comes Shawn's voice from behind.

John turns to face him. "And maybe I shouldn't tell her."

"Why not?"

John sighs. "I found out that she...is against sex before marriage."

"And that's a problem?" Shawn asks.

"It might not have been as big a problem if I hadn't been having..._very _realistic dreams about her."

"I can understand your frustration... But what's more important, sex or the woman you love?"

"Lady! There's no question! I know it'll be um difficult but I take beatings every week. I got this. I can go without sex! I love her and I will do whatever it takes! She's worth it!"

Shawn pats him on the back. "Good! Now go tell her you love her."

He sees her with Trish and goes over to them. "What's up?"

"Ashley's flight was delayed so she can't be my partner." Trish reveals. "I'm trying to talk Lady into taking her place."

"Do it!" John tells Lady.

"I've only had one match."

"Against Angle and Tomko. I think you can handle Victoria and Torrie." Trish insists.

"You've been wanting to get back in the ring." John proclaims.

Lady finally gives in. "Okay. I'll do it."

"_I'll tell as soon as her match is over." _John thinks.

"You'll be watching won't you?" Lady asks him.  
"Yeah, of course."

She rushes backstage excited! Sure Trish was the one that got the pin but she was proud of herself for doing as well as she did. She finds John sitting in his dressing room and wraps her arms around him from behind. "Did you see me?! I can't believe some of the stuff I did!" He's silent. She moves around to face him. He looks angry and on the verge of tears. "What's wrong?" she asks touching his face. He turns away from her hand. "So you really wanna be Mrs. Champ, huh?" his voice cracks.

"John, what's wrong with you?"

He stands up and stares into her eyes, the look frightening her. "Did you decide to work with me cause you realized Chris wasn't gonna become champ?"  
"What? John where would you get that idea?"

"Are you just using me?!"

The words cut her to the bone. She begins to cry. "How can you ask me that?! If that were true I never would have risk my own safety to keep you out of Hell in a Cell!" she sobs. "Why would you think that I..."

He grabs her and pulls her against him. "You what? What are you talking about keeping me out of Hell in a Cell?"

"Eric gave me a choice. I could either be your partner or he'd change your and Kurt's Unforgiven match to Hell in a Cell."

"That... Lady, I've been in street fights before. I was in an "I quit" match."  
"I know." she says running her finger over his scar caused by JBL. "It wasn't a question of whether or not you could handle it. I just didn't want to give them more of a chance to hurt you than they already had."

He wraps his arms around her. "I'm an idiot. I can't believe I let Bischoff almost turn me against you."

"What else did he say?" Lady asks.

"He...said he found you and Chris making out in his office."

She rolls her eyes. "He walked in on Chris kissing me. A short kiss at that. He was messing with my head to keep me on his side. And as you know it didn't work."

He smiles. "Lady..."

"I need to go get cleaned up before your match." she interrupts him. "See ya shortly."

As she walks away he thinks, _"Why every time I try to tell her something keeps it from happening? Guess I'm just not meant to tell her, no matter what Shawn says."_

_October 17, 2005 Monday Night Raw_

John hasn't made any more attempts to profess his love to Lady. He's also avoided talking to Shawn about it. It's almost time for the wedding so he goes to her dressing room. He knocks. "Come in." she calls. He opens the door, and his breath is taken away at the sight of her. She looks like an angel in her long, white, chiffon gown. The spaghetti straps are embellished with crystals, and crystal loops hang off her shoulders. It has asymmetrical lines created by tiers of chiffon edged with crystals. (here's a pic: ) Part of her brown hair has a white ribbon braided through it. "John breathe." she says with a laugh.

He takes a deep breath and sighs. "You are absolutely the most beautiful bride I've ever seen."

She blushes. "You make a pretty handsome groom." she replies softly. She jokingly asks "Is it bad luck for the groom to see the bride before a fake wedding?"

He laughs. "Um I'm not sure."

"John, time to head out there." announces Stephanie.

"See ya soon Mrs. Champ."

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join this man and this woman to be married. If anyone here has any objections speak now, or forever hold your peace."

The arena falls silent. Then suddenly pyros start going off just and a familiar image came onto the titantron. Y5J, Y4J, Y3J, Y2J...BREAK THE WALLS DOWN!!! echoes through the arena.

"What the..?" John calls.

After a moment of waiting for Jericho to appear Lady shakes her head and leans into the microphone. "Very funny, Bischoff!" she snaps.

"Well if there are no further interruptions." says the judge. "Do you John take this woman to be your wife, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health till death do you part?"

"I do." John states. And in his heart he meant it. He truly loved her that much.

"Do you Lady take this man to be your husband, to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health till death do you part?"

"I do." she says softly. As they exchange rings Lady notices John is shaking. _"I can't believe he's more nervous about this then I am."_

"By the power invested in me by the state of California, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." John takes Lady's face in his hands and places his lips to hers. He keeps still for a second then lightly brushes his lips over hers before ending the kiss.

As they walk back up the aisle Lady tosses her bouquet to a girl in the front row who's wearing a Chain Gang shirt. Once backstage she says, "Well that was...interesting."

"Yeah." John sighs. He realizes that at that moment there is no one in the hall except them. _"Tell her." _

"I'm gonna get changed so I can watch Shawn's match."

As she starts to enter her dressing room she hears, "Lady, I love you."

She slowly turns to look at him. "I love you too, John."


	13. Chapter 13

He smiles and moves closer to her. "You love me?"

"Of course I do. You're my friend."

His heart sinks! She doesn't get it! He ushers her inside her dressing room, and looks deep into her eyes. "Lady I...Don't get me wrong, I do value our friendship. I hope that what I'm about to say doesn't ruin it but you have to know the truth." He softly caresses her face. "Lady...I've fallen in love with you."

"No." she says calmly and moves away from him. She's in shock. He can't be saying this to her!

He walks up behind her and pulls her against him. She feels his breath on her face and nearly melts. "Yes." he whispers. "I love you." He turns her around to face him. "Remember at Homecoming when you said that when the time was right I'd find the right woman?" She nods. "I have Beautiful. It's _you_."

She shakes her head fervently. "No!" She pulls out of his loose grip and walks away. "NO John. You _can't _love me!"

He becomes frustrated; he needs her to believe him. "Well I do!" he affirms.

"No." she whimpers. "You can't be in love with me! Not right now!"

"Okay, fine. I'll just go and I'll give my heart to you when it's more convenient." he replies sarcastically. "Lady, it doesn't work like that! I can't just turn these feelings off!" he yells.

"I know!" she shouts. "If anybody understands that it's _me_." she cries, her body shaking with sobs.

He hadn't meant to upset her. Never in a million years did he want to hurt her. He grabs her in a tight hug. "Shh...don't cry, Lady. Please don't cry." He holds her until the crying and shaking subside. He wipes away her tears with his thumbs. "Talk to me. What's going on?"

"You'll think I'm pathetic." she says.

"Never. Beautiful, pathetic is how Bischoff is so dead against me being champion. You are _not _pathetic."

She takes his hand and leads him over to the couch. She sits silently. "You can tell me anything." John assures her. And she believes him.

She sighs. "Do...you know who Nate Brody is?" she asks.

"The singer/actor?" John asks. She nods. "What about him?"

"I can't explain it." she begins. "I have only met the guy once, and he wasn't exactly sober. I don't know how to put it into words, John. There's just this...connection. Our mutual friend, Lorena, is stunned at how I can know things about him without really knowing him."

Even though what she is saying isn't very logical, John understands what she is trying to say. He gently turns her face toward him and looks into her eyes. "Go on." he says softly.

"I..." she begins, then looks away--unable to face John with the words that she knows will hurt him. "I love him." The words hit John harder than any shot he had received during a match. "I do. I know it seems crazy..." She sighs. "And if I hadn't experienced it myself, I'd probably not believe someone else if they said it happened to them."

"I believe you." John tells her. "You've got a good heart, Lady. I'm not surprised that someone could take it so easily." He moves closer and takes her hand in his. "Beautiful, you may love Nate but I _know _you're attracted to me. And I think this could go deeper than friendship, if you'll let it."

"John, I _am _attracted to you, and I do care for you _a lot_. Let me ask, are you over your ex?"

He rakes his hand through his hair, as he lets out a frustrated sigh and licks his lips. "I'm sitting here professing my love for you. That should answer your question."

"It does. But don't you see? I'm not over Nate. John, I _won't _use you to get over him." she insists.

"Use me? I'd be honored to try and help you get over him, Beautiful." he tells her.

"I wouldn't want someone getting involved with me to help him get over someone else, so I won't do that to you." she avows.

"Lady..."

"John, stop! You said you don't want this to ruin our friendship, so please don't push me."

"I just think that you deserve someone who will love you the way you should be loved. But I won't push you." He wraps his arms around her and holds her against his chest. "Just know that I'm here for you...as a friend or something more if you want." He kisses her cheek, very near to her lips before leaving the room.

She changes and mulls over the conversation. "I can't believe this is happening." She groans. "I _didn't _choose to fall in love with Nate, or to be attracted to John. John's a good guy, I don't want to hurt him. What if this is my one chance at happiness." She sighs. "I gotta talk to Shawn!" She dashes out of the room.

After he changes John charges into Shawn's dressing room. "Why didn't you tell me about Nate?!" he yells. "Why didn't you tell me Lady was already in love with someone? Instead you let me put my heart on the line, knowing she wasn't going to feel the same way that I do about her."

"Now, hold on a minute." Shawn says. "I told you I couldn't promise you that Lady would feel the same way, remember that?"

Lady stops outside the doorway when she hears John's voice.

"You were the one that was pushing me to tell her!" John shouts. His tone lowers. "You may not have promised anything, but you still made me think I had a good chance with her, and all the time you knew I couldn't have her."

"Just calm down and listen to me, John." Shawn says. "Trust me, it was for the best that you told her. She _needed _to know, and she needed to hear it from _you_."

"I just don't understand, Shawn." John declares. "Why would you convince me to tell her, let me put myself out there just to get shot down, which you _knew_ was going to happen? You knew she wasn't going to love me back. This guy already has her, even if the lucky bastard doesn't know it."

"John..." Shawn puts a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Maybe right now you're confused and angry with me, but you'll understand soon. I did it for Lady. She really did need to know. And it's going to help her to realize something. Just give her some time, John. It'll all work out, and that I _can _promise you."

She steps inside the room. "Really...Mr. Matchmaker Michaels? Can you promise it'll all work out?"

Shawn pulls her into a hug and whispers, "Just take the chance, Lady."

She takes a deep breath as he releases her and looks at John. "Can we talk?" He nods and they had back to her dressing room.

"You do understand that when I say no sex before marriage I mean _no _sex in _any _form?" she inquires.

"I can respect that." he insists.

"John, do you think I'm worth the risk of getting your heart broken?"

He shakes his head and laughs lightly. "Beautiful any day, anytime, anywhere you'd be worth the risk."

She nearly melts at the statement and smiles. "Our personal relationship can't interfere with our work."

"Keep business and pleasure separate." he states.

"And another thing," she begins. "I can't believe I'm going to say this cause I never understood the purpose of keeping an ex in your life unless there were kids involved..." She looks into his eyes. "I don't want to ruin our friendship either...So if we do this and it doesn't work out..." She chews her lip. "Promise we'll always be friends."

He takes her face in his hands. "Always. So what are you saying? You gonna be my girl?" She nods. He lets out an excited yell as he picks her up and twirls her around. He sits her back down and holds her close. "I promise you Lady, whatever happens you won't regret giving me this chance."

She thinks, _"I just hope I don't break your heart, John."_


	14. Chapter 14

John relishes the feeling of having Lady in his arms, knowing she's finally his girl.

There's a load knock and a voice calls, "Lady, Champ you're on!"

"On for what?" Lady asks.

"We gotta go out and watch the 18-man battle royal with Coach and Lawler." John states.

"Oh yeah. I forgot."

They notice there is only one chair for the both of them. "I'll get someone to bring out another one." John tells her.  
"It's okay." she says without hesitation. "I could just sit on your knee. I trust you." She smiles sweetly.

During the match she laughs at how John picks on Coach. At one point the Heart Throbs try to take on Kane and get chokeslammed for their troubles. She leans back to speak into John's mic; "I can't believe the Door Knobs thought they could take out Kane."

"Did you just call them 'the Door Knobs'?" asks Coach.

"Yes, _Joke_. I did."

"OOH!" John calls as he and Lawler crack up. "Don't ya just love my Lady, King?"

"Yes, she's quite a woman." Lawler states.

It comes down to Kane and Masters! Once Kane knocks Masters out of the ring, winning the match, he and John have a stare off. It's clear to Lady that John is spooked. She puts a comforting arm around his waist.

During the limo ride, John notices a wondering look in Lady's eyes. "You're not having second thoughts about being my girlfriend are you?"

"No!" she insists. "However, being your girlfriend and fictional wife complicates things for me a little."

"How so?"

"Well, you know that I'm on your side." He nods. "That is when you're facing anyone...except for Shawn."

"I see." John says. "So if he becomes the third man in the triple threat match..."  
"Outwardly I'll play my role of devoted wife but...you understand don't you?"  
He smiles and hugs her. "Of course I do, and I don't feel betrayed at all. We're here." he says as the limo pulls up to the hotel.

"You're in room 425." says the desk clerk.

"Which one of us?" John asks.

"Both of you." replies the clerk.

"I guess Vince really wants to play up this marriage." Lady says.

"Can you find another room for one of us?" John asks the clerk.  
"I'm sorry we're all booked up."

"John..." Lady pulls him aside. "I can sleep on the couch. I do it a lot at home actually. It helps my back, as strange as that sounds." She sees the hesitation in his face. "Please! I'm tired, let's just go to our room."

As she's about to doze off there is a load clap of thunder and lightening flash. She jumps! "It's okay, just relax." she tells herself. She tries to ignore the howling winds but can't! Another clap of thunder and lightening flash send her flying off of the couch. She grabs her pillows and heads for the bedroom. She stands in the doorway and stares at his sleeping form. "How can he sleep through this?" She slides under the covers next to him and immediately begins to relax. She's surprised when in his sleep; John turns over and puts his arm around her. She laughs softly and drifts into a peaceful sleep.

He awakes to see a beautiful brown mane in front of him. He raises up and leans over her. He is surprised! Why is she in bed with him? He looks under the covers. _"I'm in my boxers, so guess I'm not dreaming again." _He smiles at the realization that she's actually there. He gently squeezes her tiny frame and kisses her cheek.

Slowly her eyes open. She rolls onto her back and looks up at him. "Good morning."

"Good morning, Beautiful."

She blushes slightly. "I can explain. There was a storm."

"It's okay. It's a lovely thing to wake up to." He runs his fingers through her hair. "So how you wanna spend our first day together?"

"I actually have a flight home at 3:00." She sees the disappointment in his face. "You can come with me if you want."

A smile spreads across his face. "Really?"

"Yeah. You can meet my mother."

"Damn, you gonna put me in front of the firing squad so soon?" he laughs.

"Hey, now she thought it was sweet when I told you made that special trip to check on me."

"I knew then that I was in love with you." he confesses.

"Why didn't you say anything?" she whispers.  
"You kept saying we were _friends _and I was afraid of scaring you off. Then I wouldn't have you at all."

"John, I can't promise I'll return your feelings, but I'm willing to give this a chance."

"That's good enough for now." he assures.

He comes out of the bathroom and hears Lady's voice. "You trust Shawn's opinion right?... Yes! John is nothing but sweet to me." He steps into the doorway between the bedroom and living room. She is visibly upset! Trying not to cry she says, "Look, we'll be there later this evening. Okay, bye." She hangs up the phone and puts it in her purse. "Stop it!" She yells as she grabs her wrist to stop the twitching.

Suddenly his strong arms wrap around her from behind. "I take it she wasn't happy to hear that I'm your boyfriend."

She turns to face him. "Well you make it kind of obvious that you're not innocent. And I'm not living up to my name by jumping on you and kissing you last week after you beat Masters. And then last night, sitting on your lap!" She laughs sarcastically as she pulls away from him. "I'm a tramp!"

"She said that to you?!" John exclaims.

"No! But... she clearly doesn't have any faith in me to hold onto the values she instilled."

"If that's true, then it's _her _problem. I'll tell ya one thing though."

"What's that?" she asks.

"I'm thanking her when I meet her." he answers.

"For what?"

"For you. You're a beautiful, sweet, good-hearted woman. She must have done something right." he says as he pulls her into a hug.

"_Cena, you have no idea what you're getting yourself into." _she thinks.


	15. Chapter 15

"Beautiful, relax." John says as he makes the drive to her home.

Lady sighs. "I just...I don't know if Mommy likes you. I mean she actually started taking your side before I did..."

"Isn't that a good sign?" he asks.

"Before you were just my co-worker and then friend. So she could overlook your... 'Bad Bad Man' deal. But now you're my boyfriend. She'd look for fault even if you didn't have any."

He takes her hand in his and kisses it. "Lady, I'm sure she loves you very much and wants nothing more than for you to be happy." He glances over at her and smiles. "I know that's all I want."

She smiles. She can see in John's eyes how much he loves her. Suddenly Nate's face floods her mind. _"What if I never get over Nate? Can I do this to John? Can I risk breaking his heart?"_

She's so lost in thought that she doesn't notice when John pulls up to her house. "You okay Beautiful?" he asks putting his arm around her.

"Wha...um. Yeah."

They exit the car and walk up to the house. As she takes her keys out of her purse she drops them. John picks them up. "Beautiful chill out!" The loving way in which he looks at her makes her begin to relax. "Which key?"

"The gold one." He unlocks the door and steps aside so she can enter. "Hello?" Lady calls. They are greeted in the doorway between the kitchen and living room by her mother. The women hug. Lady giggles as she says, "You already know who he is, so John this is my mother."

"Nice to meet you Ms. Davis." he says extending his hand.

"Call me Carly." she says as she shakes his hand.

As the women prepare dinner John asks, "Can I help?"

"You...can shred the carrots for the salad if you want." Lady says. _"Is he really this wonderful or just trying to make a good impression on my mother?" _

Either way he had made an impression. "Thank you John." says Carly.

After dinner John is taken aback when Lady and her mother bicker over who's doing the dishes. "Mother please! You're feet are swollen, go prop them up. Let me and John do the dishes." Carly finally gives in and goes to the living room.

As Lady runs the dishwater John puts his arm around her and whispers, "You're a good daughter."

"Well I should be." she says in a soft voice. "It's my fault she's as sick as she is."

"What?" he asks. He sees the tears in her eyes.

She sighs. "I'll explain some other time."

He decides not to pry. When she's ready she'll tell him.

After they finish the dishes, they go to the living room. "If you two don't mind I'm gonna go check my email." Lady says.

"It's okay." assures John.

"Go right ahead." says Carly.

Lady slips off to her bedroom as John sits on the couch. After a few moments he breaks the awkward silence. "Ms...Carly...I know that I put out this street thug image, but I really love your daughter. I know she has certain standards and I totally respect them." He chuckles. "I told her I was going to thank you."

"Thank me?" Carly asks.

"Yeah. For Lady! She's a _wonderful _woman. I'm sure that's total credit to you." Suddenly Lady appears in the room with a stunned look on her face. "What's wrong?" he asks.

"Um." She laughs. "I just checked out and... well 'Little Lady' is no longer listed under Raw Superstars."

"What?!" John asks shocked.

"Now I'm listed as 'Lady Cena'." she informs them.

"Apparently Vince wants to make your marriage look real." states Carly.

"Yeah! He..." John is about to tell Carly how he and Lady shared a room the night before when the look on Lady's face stops him. "He really seems into this story."

As John prepares to leave Lady walks him to the door. "Good night, Beautiful."

He kisses her cheek. _"Okay weird." _She wonders why he doesn't kiss her on the lips.

"I'm sure you would like some time alone with your mom during the day. So we'll figure out something tomorrow evening."

"I want to go to church tomorrow evening. Will you go with me?"

The idea makes him slightly uncomfortable. "Um...yeah. Sure. Do I need to dress up?

"No. Just long jeans and a nice shirt."

"Okay. I'll call you in the morning. Good night." he says.

"Good night." She stretches up and gives him a quick peck on the lips. They smile at each other as he backs out the door.

_The next day_

After church they go for a walk in the park. They snuggle on a bench. "Church was nice." he said.

"I'm glad you think so." she says. "I'm not going to put on a front like I'm a perfect Christian cause I'm not." She sits up straight before continuing. "There have been times I have wanted to just give up. I can't understand why HE allows a lot of things to happen. I wish HE didn't allow a lot of things to happen. I try to keep the faith that no matter what happens here, even if all of my dreams come true... The happiness that I'll experience in the next life is unimaginably greater than the greatest feeling I could ever have in this lifetime."

John listens intently as she speaks. He gently strokes her cheek with the back of his hand. "What are you dreams, Beautiful?"

She looks at him and smiles. "It's cliche." she replies.

"So what if it is? I want to know."

"Ever since I was a little girl...long before I ever thought about any kind of career...I've wanted to be a wife and mommy. Some might think that my parents being divorced would scare me but...it doesn't. I totally believe in true love and soul mates."

John smiles back at her, "You'll make an amazing wife and mommy, I'm sure of it." He pulls her close to him and wraps his arms around her. _"Hopefully my wife and the mommy of my kids." _

She snuggles against him. She feels so relaxed and comfortable in his arms. She lets out a sweet sigh making him chuckle softly. _"This feels so right." _she thinks. _"John makes me feel things I've always wanted to... What is it about him that makes me so comfortable? The things that I feel when he looks at me and holds me are all the things that I dreamed of feeling..." _Her eyes shoot open at the realization and the vision coming to her mind. _"Nate...This is exactly what I want from Nate."_


	16. Chapter 16

_Thursday_

They spent the early part of the day with Lady's mother and at the gym. Lady said she had a craving for Chinese food so John planned a romantic evening for them.

"I can't believe you arranged this on such short notice." Lady says. John had arranged for them to have their own private booth cut off from the rest of the restaurant.

"Hey, it wasn't too much trouble. Luckily they're not super busy this evening." he says.

"Okay, fortune cookie time." announces Lady.

"You believe in em?" John asks.

"Depends on what they say. I don't put my faith in them, that's reserved for God. Some of em are funny and totally off base. But some are neat, and I keep those for inspiration." She opens her cookie and pulls out the slip of paper. She chuckles softly when she sees what it says.

"What?" John asks.

"Look no further--what you seek is right before you." she reads then smiles at him.

He smiles back as he opens his cookie. He reads, "What you wish for will be yours soon." He puts his arm around her and pulls her closer to him. "I think these fortunes are already coming true, don't you?"

"Yeah, I think so." she replies softly. They gaze at each other for what feels like an eternity before she finally says, "Cena."

"Yeah?"

"Kiss me." she whispers.

He gently places his lips on hers and softly brushes them over her lips. She places her hands on the back of his head, gently forcing him closer. He smiles against her mouth then firmly grinds his mouth against hers. _"I can't believe how much I love you." _he thinks as his all of his senses go into overdrive. Afraid of wanting her too much he abruptly ends the kiss.

"What's wrong?" she inquires.

"Nothing." he insists.

"John, don't lie to me. What's wrong?"

"I... Beautiful, you know that I totally respect your no sex views."

"I know." she reassures.

"But I gotta be honest with you. I've...had some dreams." he confesses.

"Sex dreams?"

"Yeah." He looks deep into her eyes. "But believe me, it wasn't just sex. It was lovemaking. It's just that they were so real that..." He sighs heavily. "I'm afraid of wanting you too much and doing something I shouldn't."

She chuckles. "John, I'm a virgin but I'm a human being. I have thoughts and urges. But I trust myself _and _I trust _you_. Okay?" She puts her arms around his neck. "You don't have to be afraid." With that she reclaims his mouth for another sweet kiss.

After leaving the restaurant, they walk along the storefront. Lady stops in front of a dress shop and admires a gorgeous wedding dress. John puts his arms around her and rests his chin on her shoulder. "I don't know if I believe that you could look more beautiful than you did at our wedding Monday night."

She laughs. "I did like that dress but...For my real wedding I want a veil and train... the whole fairy tale thing."

He kisses her cheek and whispers in her ear, "One day Beautiful."

They begin walking again and this time Lady stops in front of a jewelry store. "Oh NO way!" she exclaims.

"What?" John asks.

"That!" she says pointing to an enormous diamond engagement ring. "_No _way would I wear that!"

"Seriously?" he asks confused. _"What woman turns down a huge rock?"_

"Seriously! It's way too big. Gimmetwo karats tops. And I'll take smaller! I just personally don't find big, gaudy jewelry attractive."

"Are you for real?" he inquires.

"Yeah."

He pulls her close. "I swear the more I learn about you, the deeper in love I fall." He leans down and takes her lips.

She kisses him back. _"I hope that soon I can love you the same way." _she thinks.

_Sunday October 23, 2005 Nextel Cup_

She clings to him. "I'm scared."

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous." he confesses.

"I'll be praying for you." she says looking up him.

"I'll be okay."

She smiles as she stretches up to give him a tender kiss. As he climbs inside the car she prays, _"Please keep him safe."_

"You don't have to worry about me leaving the ring for a racecar!" he exclaims once he's back by her side. "I just scared the crap outta myself."

"Aww! A big, husky man like you scared is quite sexy." she says with a smile. As she hugs him she thinks to herself, _"I don't think I've smiled as much in my life as I have in the past six days."_

_Monday October 24, 2005_

She wakes up to a tickling sensation at the back of her neck. Once fully awaken she realizes that the cause is John's lips. "What are you doing?" she asks rolling onto her back.

"Trying to wake you up and it worked." He presses his lips to hers as she wraps her arms around his neck. They share a sweet, lingering kiss. "I love you." he says looking into her eyes.

A sad feeling tugs at her heart. "John, believe me when I say that I really hope one day I can return your feelings."

"Lady, I'm just focusing on right now. And right now you're my girl that makes me happy." He claims her lips again. She returns the kiss for a moment before saying; "Right now we have to get ready for the press conference." She presses her lips to his once more before pushing him away.

At the press conference after John speaks a fan says, "I have a question for Lady."

She steps up to the podium. "Yes?"

The fan asks, "Having just become John's wife, will it cause any problems for you if Shawn becomes the third man in the triple threat match?"

"Um well, yes Shawn is my best friend but...I'm a devoted wife so no matter who his opponents are I have to support my husband." She looks at Shawn who flashes her an understanding smile.

_Monday Night Raw_

"Hey my beautiful wife." John says walking into the dressing room.

She laughs and turns around. She sees him holding a shirt box. "What's this?"

"Something I had made for you."

She opens it to find a baseball jersey. Just like John's chain gang jersey except it has pink stripes. On the front in pink letters is 'Lady Cena'. John this is great." she says with a smile.

"Look on the back." he says.

She turns it around. "Oh my gosh! 'Mrs. Champ'. So is this a prototype for new merchandise or just for me?"

"It's just for you Mrs. Champ."

She pulls the shirt over her pink mid-riff top and black pants. "Well thank you." She pulls him into a kiss. They become lost in the kiss until they hear a knock on the door.

They turn to see Vince. "So I take it that the two of you are really into this storyline." he says.

"Lady and I are boyfriend and girlfriend." John confesses. "But whatever happens in our personal relationship we won't let it interfere with work."

"Well I certainly hope not. Lady may I speak with you privately for a moment?"

Becomingly slightly nervous she agrees, "Of course."

"I'll wait in the hall." John says.

Once they're alone Vince asks, "Did you see what transpired between Carlito and Mick Foley?"

"Yes I did." she replies.

"Well I just overheard Eric saying some bothersome things to Mick. So just in case he's planning on interfering in John and Kurt's match tonight I want a second special referee on hand."

"I'm not sure I'm following." Lady says.

"I need for you to be willing to get in the ring and call the match in the event that Mick can't at some point."

"Um...wow! Sure okay!"

"Good." Vince says.

Lady takes her place beside of John in the gorilla position. "Where'd you run off to?" John asks.

"Uh, I had to get something outta my locker."

"Belly get cold?" he asks with a laugh.

"What?"

"You buttoned your jersey."

"Oh yeah." she says with a laugh.

During the match both John and Kurt get several two-counts. Suddenly Carlito hits but Foley nails him and then goes to work on him on the outside. Carlito sent him into the ring steps! Carlito then drops Foley with a DDT. Back in the ring John hits a side slam, five-knuckle-shuffle and FU as Lady strips off her jersey, revealing a ref shirt and hits the ring. John looks at her puzzled. "Just cover him." she insists. John does as she says. She counts 1...2..."AAH!" She screams when Eric grabs her legs and drags her outside. Carlito holds her back as Eric hits the ring, wearing a referee uniform. John goes after Eric but Kurt locks in the ankle lock! Eric yells at John to tap. John almost makes the ropes but Eric grabs his hand and forces it to the mat to make it tap. Kurt is declared the winner. Struggling to free herself from Carlito's grasp, Lady finally nails him with a mule-kick to his apples. She rushes back into the ring as John tosses Kurt to the outside and he isn't happy as Kurt motions that he has beaten John three times since coming to RAW. John's ankle is in pain; Lady tends to him.

"Hey Cena." Eric calls from the ramp. "Remember how you FUed me at Unforgiven? Well consider what just happened my personal FU to you. And you Mrs. Cena..." Lady looks angrily at him. "Since you want to referee let's see how you like refereeing next week when your husband goes one-on-one with your best friend, the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels!"

A look of shock takes over Lady's face. John versus Shawn? No way! She can't referee that!


	17. Chapter 17

John leans on Lady for support as they head backstage. "What were you doing refereeing the match?"

She doesn't answer him and just calls to a trainer; "Hey can you help him?" As John leans on the trainer Lady rushes over to Vince. "Mr. McMahon I was only doing what you asked me to. Please don't make me referee John and Shawn's match next Monday."

"Actually Lady I think Eric had a very good idea making you special referee." Vince insists.

"But...how am I supposed to choose?" she asks.

"You won't be choosing. You'll just call it right down the middle. You'll do fine, Lady." he says patting her on the shoulder.

"Yes sir." she murmurs before going to check on John.

"Hey." she says.

"Hey. So I guess Vince won't let you out of refereeing."

"Nope."

"Your ankle's fine." says the trainer.

"Thanks." John says as the trainer walks away.

"I just don't know how I'm going to deal with it." she says. "I mean I love you and Shawn both. How am I..." What she has just said sinks in and she looks at John. "I..."

"Lady, I understand. I know you love me as a friend. Hopefully you'll one day love me in the same way I love you."

"I hope so." she whispers before placing a sweet kiss to his lips. She hugs him and rests her head against his shoulder. _"God please don't let me hurt him."_

_That night at the hotel_

Lady is walking through the hallway back to her and John's room when a couple of fans stop her. She removes her headphones to speak with them. "Hello."

"Hi." they say.

"I'm Kathy, this is RJ. Can we get some autographs please?" a girl says.

"Sure." She signs the girl's copy of Raw magazine. Then RJ says, "I don't have anything with me. Our room's just down the hall, mind coming for a second?"

"No that's fine."

As they enter the room she sees John's DVD playing on the TV. "We only planned on being out of the room for a minute so we didn't turn it off." says Kathy.

Lady sees it's a scene set at a Smackdown Thanksgiving party. To her utter dismay John is talking dirty about Torrie Wilson and saying a "prayer." She becomes very upset. "Are you okay?" Kathy asks.

Lady's voice cracks as she answers, "Uh; yeah I'm fine."

"Here you go." RJ says handing her a picture.

She quickly signs it and hands it back to him. "It was nice to meet you; I gotta go." She rushes out of the room and runs right into John. "Whoa, hey Beautiful."

"Get away from me." she snaps.  
"Lady, what..."

"JUST GET AWAY FROM ME." she screams before running off.

Several moments later John bangs on Shawn's door. When Shawn opens John starts to ask. "Is La..?" He hears her sobbing and starts to enter the room.

Shawn pushes him back. "Just give her some time."

"Look I don't have a clue what's got into her. She just freaked out on me." John tells him.

"Right now she's praying. When she's done I'll talk to her and find out what's going on."

John sighs. "Okay. You know I love her."

"I know." Shawn assures him.

"Just take care of her." John says before walking away.

After she settles down she tells Shawn what got her so upset. "How could he make God into some joke?" she asks.

Shawn is silent for a moment then says, "Lady do you remember me telling you that it took a good woman to turn me around, maybe that's what John needs?"

"Um hm."

"I think you've been brought into John's life for a reason."

"Shawn you know how long I've spent praying for Nate. Why wasn't I put in his life, why hasn't he turned himself around?"

"I don't know. But you can still pray for Nate to get his life lined out while you're influencing John."

"It's not all or nothing is it?" she asks about to cry again.

"No. It's not. Nate's always going to have a place in your heart, but if you just relax and let God do HIS work you'll be able to love John in that special way."

She nods her head at his words. "Oh the poor guy! I...I totally flipped on him. Must have freaked him out!"

"Yeah. He was really worried." Shawn tells her.

"I better go find him and explain." she says.

She enters her and John's room. He stands up off the couch and looks at her with concern and hurt in his eyes. She rushes over and wraps her arms around him. "I'm sorry."

He takes her hands as they sit down. "Beautiful what happened? If I did some..."

She places her finger to his lips. "Shh. Maybe I overreacted a little...a lot." She sighs. "I was giving some fans autographs and I stepped into their room for a moment... Your DVD was playing. It was the Smackdown Thanksgiving and you...well I don't have to tell you."

"I know that I was kinda nasty and you..."

"It's not the dirty talk that bothered me. I'd be a hypocrite to say that cause right before I saw the DVD I was listening to Def Leppard's 'Let It Go.' What bothered me was the prayer; it's like you were making fun of God."

John's quiet for a moment before saying, "I don't know what to say. I mean I really can't justify it." He looks deep into her eyes. "Maybe I'm not the man you need me to be."

"John I just want you to be the man that you need to be." She hugs him. _"Hopefully I can help you with that."_

"We better get some sleep. We got a _LONG _day tomorrow." he says.

She groans. "I know! I can't say I'm looking forward to that long flight. But definitely looking forward to Australia."

"Good. Because I've got something special planned." he says with a sly grin.

"Oh really Mr. Cena?"

"Really."

"And just what is this something special?"

"I'm not telling." She pouts playfully. He takes her bottom lip between his, bringing a smile to her face. "You'll just have to wait."

"I'm sure it'll be worth the wait." she says.

_Plane ride to Australia_

As Lady sleeps on his shoulder John reaches into his bag for a magazine to read. What he finds is a Christian booklet called "Our Daily Bread." "What..?" He looks at the beauty sleeping on his shoulder. He chuckles softly, realizing that she must have slipped it in his bag. He takes a deep breath and begins reading through the booklet.

"John..." Lady stares in awe at the candlelit dinner on the table in their hotel room. "Wow! I can't believe you did this."

"Why wouldn't I do this? I love you." he says before kissing her hand. After they eat dinner he asks, "Ready for dessert? It's Creamy Chocolate Whip."

"Ooh! Sounds great." she says. John disappears for a moment then comes back and holds a dessert glass at her eye level. She gasps at the sight of a diamond and gold bracelet wrapped around the stem of the glass.

"You like it?" he asks.

"I...I love it!"

He puts it on her right wrist. "I got it when I was in Italy. I saw it and just _had _to get it for you. I had it with me that day I came to see you but..." He's cut off by her lips brushing over his.

"I love it. Thank you."

After dessert John puts on a CD. "Now that your ankle is heeled, let's do this right." He pulls her close as "These Arms of Mine" begins playing.

She lays her face against his chest as they dance. "This is all so new to me."

"How so?" he asks.

She takes a deep breath as she looks up at him. "John...you're my first boyfriend."

"What?" he asks in disbelief.

She goes over to the couch and he follows. "I have been in love but it's been unrequited."

"Nate."

"Yeah. And I've had guys have crushes on me but I was NOT attracted to them."

"Masters." John says with a laugh.

She laughs too. "Yeah." She looks into his eyes. "With you...This is the first time I've ever been attracted to a guy and had the feelings returned."

"I'm honored to have this chance with you." He leans closer to her and strokes her cheek with the back of his hand. "I have nothing but love and respect for you Beautiful."

"I know." she whispers before claiming his lips. He returns the kiss and is stunned when he feels her tongue flick over his lips. He pulls back a bit. "I'm sorry!" she says.

"Da...Don't be. If you're okay with it, I TOTALLY am." he insists. They resume kissing and their tongues explore each other's mouths. John gently leans her back on the couch and lays on top of her. She whimpers softly. "Am I crushing you?" he asks.

She shakes her head and gives him a gentle peck on the lips. His lips move to her neck as her mind wanders. _"I should be scared having a brick wall lying on top of me but I'm not. I couldn't feel safer than I do with John. He loves me!...But can I love him back the same?"_


	18. Chapter 18

Lady wakes the next morning to intense fatigue! She forces her eyes to stay open and prays for the fatigue to go away. She tries to get out of bed and collapses to the floor. "LADY!" John rushes to her and lifts her in his arms. He lays her on the bed and brushes her hair out of her pale face. "Beautiful?"

"John." she says weakly.

"Do I need to call Vince and get you outta the show?"

"No! Just gimme a few minutes."

Finally she manages to get cleaned up and change her clothes. "Ugh. My hair!" she groans as she runs her fingers through her brown locks. "Ah. Ow! I'd wash it but my hands hurt."

John gets an idea and disappears off to the bathroom. "Come here." he calls to her.

"What are you doing?" she asks entering the bathroom.

"I'm gonna take care of my girl." He has her lean back against the tub and places a towel under her neck for support. He then grabs the shower hose and begins to wet her hair.

"I gotta say that in all my fantasies I never thought about my guy washing my hair."

"I'm more than happy to do it for you Beautiful." he tells her as he rings the water out of her hair. She cries out in pain. "Did I hurt you?!"

"It's trigger points in my scalp." To distract her from the pain John kisses her.

_At the arena_

Shawn puts his arm around Lady. "Well what's got you all lit up like a Christmas tree?"

She chuckles. "John washed my hair."

He laughs. "What?"

"I was having a rough spell this morning. I couldn't wash my hair myself so he did it. I didn't ask, it was all his idea."

"Well he loves you and wants to take care of you."

Her smile disappears. "I know. But...is that a good thing...for him I mean?"

"That's a good thing Lady. John's always in a good mood but since getting you as his girl, I've never seen him happier." He gives her a hug. "I gotta get ready for my match. See ya later."

She thinks to herself, _"I hope John can stay happy with me, but I'm not so sure."_

_Back at the hotel_

She changes into her pajamas and heads into the bedroom. She was so exhausted during John's match that had she allowed herself to relax; she'd have passed right out in the floor. Now she was so tired that she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep. She attempts to sit down on the bed but her balance is off. She slides down the bed frame and hits the floor with a slight thud. She whimpers in pain.

John enters the room to find her crying in a heap on the floor. "Beautiful?" He sits next to her and pulls her onto his lap. "Shh. " He feels an intense sadness coming from her. As if he can feel what she's feeling. "What's the matter? Talk to me."

"Everything." she replies weakly. She stands up. "I knew this wasn't a good idea. I knew that I wouldn't be able to handle the traveling. But...I wanted to do it. I wanted to be strong enough to...I'm 26-years-old this should be the prime of my life! NO! Instead I'm sick! And I have a mother who could have died having me. Now all we do is take turns taking care of each other cause we're both always sick! And nothing NOTHING in my life is the way it was supposed to be. I never thought I'd be sick. I thought I'd be married by now with kids. I'd have a steady job that in...involved taking care of children. I...don't...know how it all got turned around."

He pulls her close to him and looks into her eyes. "You have me. And I love you and I want to take care of you and make some of those dreams come true." He takes her lips with his. She feels the intensity of his love for her and deepens the kiss. John becomes lost in her embrace. Suddenly her arms are no longer around him, but are now lifting his shirt. Her lips roam over his rock-hard chest and stomach. He tosses his shirt aside, lifts her up and lays her on the bed.

For what felt like an eternity, the were entangled with each other. Passionate kisses along with roaming hands...their minds also roamed. "_He loves me...the way I've always wanted to be loved."_

"_I want her so badly...but I can't do this...Can I?" _He breaks their kiss. Trying to catch his breath, he tells her, "I love you so much... And I _truly _respect your values... I'm perfectly content to just hold you in my arms." He strokes her face. "If you want to stop it's okay. But just say the word and I will make love to you right now." He achingly awaits her response. She stares longingly into his eyes.


	19. Chapter 19

Lady slowly opens her eyes in the bright sunshine. She smiles at the secure feeling of John's arms around her and presses a gentle kiss to his chest. She looks up at his face and see tear stains. She caresses his face and sighs, "Oh Cena."

He places his hand over hers and opens his eyes. "Good morning, Beautiful." He pulls her down for a sweet kiss.

"John I'm sor..."

"Shh." He quiets her. "Lady, I meant what I said. I was perfectly content to just hold you in my arms."

Flashback

"We need to stop." she says breathlessly. He settles backside her and pulls her close. There is a long silence, except for the sound of his heartbeat in her ear. "I should actually be grateful to this disease."

"Why's that?" he asks.

"When I was thirteen, I stayed sick. All kinds of tests were run, and they showed nothing. After a lot of questions were asked it was concluded that... my life had just caught up with me. My parents' divorce, father moving out of state, grandmother's death. The conclusion was that stress and depression were what was making me sick." She quiets as she begins to tear up.

John feels a heaviness around his heart..._her _heaviness. He can feel her sadness as if it were his very own. "Maybe you had the Fibromyalgia back then and they just didn't know enough about it."

"A few years ago, before I was diagnosed I was beating myself up. I thought about all the people who are in worse circumstances than I was but...they don't let life get them down." She begins crying again. "So as much as I hate having to deal with this...at least I know that I'm not crazy and I haven't made myself sick."

As her tears fall on his chest, John allows a few tears to fall from his own eyes. He hugs her tighter prompting her to snuggle closer.

"I'm just _now _finding some independence. With an overprotective mother and being sick so much... Finally I'm starting to find my strengths... But what if I lose it all?"

"You won't!" he insists. "I won't let that happen!" She falls asleep in his arms as his tears fall. She's so sad and afraid! He wants to fix that! _"God...I know you and I don't talk much but...please help me to help her."_

End flashback

"I think that we should get separate rooms when we get to Adelaide." she says.

"Okay." he replies.

"Really?"

"Yeah." He takes her hand and intertwines their fingers. "I'd hate myself if I caused you to do something you'd regret."

She smiles and runs her finger along his tear-streaked face. "You were crying over me."

"_For _you, Beautiful. You got a lot of hurt that I wanna help heal."

She hugs him. _"Cena, I can't do this to you. I can't let you get hurt... You mean too much to me."_

_At the arena_

Shawn finds Lady waiting in his locker room. "How did your mood change so drastically in 24 hours?"

"Something happened last night." she states solemnly.

"Okay." He sits on the bench beside her. "What?"

She hesitates before answering, "John and I...We almost... Things got a little intense."

"But you didn't..."  
"No! We didn't. He..." She forces herself not to cry and sighs heavily. "He just wants to take care of me."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

She looks at him sternly. "It _is _a bad thing. And you know why!" She stands up and puts her hands on her hips.

"Lady, don't do something you'll regret."

"Shawn, I have to pro..." She's cut off by a knock on the door. She opens it to find John.

"Hey. Thought you'd be here. You okay?"

"Yeah."

"You sure?" He feels as if she's not being truthful.

"I'm fine."

"Good. Um, Trish and Ashley are looking for you. The Divas' match has been changed to three-on-three. You up for it?"

"Yeah! I'm feeling _much _better than I did yesterday." And physically she was.

"Okay. Well go kick some ass!" he chuckles before giving her a kiss.

Shawn sees the worried expression on John's face after Lady leaves. "You okay?"

"I don't know, man. There's just this...It's like I can feel what she's feeling. And she's sad and scared. I wanna help her. I hope she realizes how much I love her."

Shawn places his hand on John's shoulder. "She does man. Trust me she does."

Candice gets Lady in her upside down choke over the ropes. "Oh no." John says as he watches from the back. Lady panics but to her own amazement manages to flip backwards, and is standing over Candice on the ropes. Candice drops to the mat and Lady tosses her back in the ring. Victoria attempts to attack from behind, but Lady sees her and nails her with a forearm to the face. Trish and Ashley tangle with Victoria and Torrie on the outside. Back in the ring, Candice charges at Lady but is met with some SWEET CHIN MUSIC! John and Shawn cheer as they watch Lady make the pin! The crowd goes wild and count with the ref, 1...2...3!

Once the girls get backstage, John picks Lady up and twirls her around. He claims her lips in a passionate kiss.

"Look at those two." says Ashley.  
"It's like they were just made for each other." asserts Trish.

"I think you're right." replies Shawn, hoping that Lady doesn't do what he feels she might.

"I'm so proud of you." John tells Lady. He hugs her tightly and tries to ignore the feeling of confusion coming from her.

They step off the elevator and head toward Lady's room. John unlocks the door for her. "If you need anything I'm just two doors down. I love you."

He tenderly kisses her. She becomes passionate and begins nibbling his bottom lip. _I have to do this."_ She looks deep into his eyes. "John..." She takes a deep breath. "This isn't gonna work."

"What are you talking about?"

"Us." her voice cracks. "I can't be your girlfriend."

He could swear he felt his heart stop beating at her words. "Wha...what are you talking about?!"  
"It's for the best." she insists.

John shakes his head. "No. NO! Lady, I...oh ga...Beautiful you know I love you."

"I know." She pulls away from him and steps inside her room. "Please. I'm sorry." She tries to fight back her own tears when she sees tears fill his eyes. "It's really..." She begins closing the door.  
He tries to step inside. "Lady..." he whimpers.

"John just go." she pleads as she shuts the door on him.

He struggles to steady his racing heart. He slams his fist against the door. "LADY!"

On the other side of the door, she crumples to the floor and sobs. _"Cena, I'm doing this for you."_


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Song credit goes to Bon Jovi. My apologies for being a tad overkill on the lyrics lol. I did a lot of editing lyrics out since I first wrote this story. Thanks again for all the reviews. Greatly appreciated.

_The next morning_

He bangs on her door! "Beautiful _please _open up!" he pleads.

"She isn't in there." John turns around to see Ric Flair. "She's downstairs having breakfast."

"Thanks man!" John says before dashing toward the elevator.

_On the plane_

"You're going to a lot of trouble to avoid talking to John." says Shawn. "Hiding in the back of the dining area so he wouldn't find you. Switching seats with Ric."

"I can't face him. I feel bad about what I did, but I had to do it."

"No you didn't Lady!" Shawn argues. He places his hand over hers. "All of your life, you've wanted a man to love you the way that John does. Don't push him away."

Lady feels a hand on her shoulder. She looks up and locks eyes with John. He opens his mouth to say something but stops. However, his eyes speak all of his sadness for him. He lets his hand slide off her shoulder before walking up three rows to his seat. Her heart aches knowing the pain she's caused him. _"I did the right thing." _Ric walks past her and sits in a seat on the opposite side of the plane. "Why didn't he sit beside John?" she wonders.

Just then Candice Michelle walks down the aisle and sits next to John. "I guess she also got Ric to trade seats with her." says Shawn.

"Tramp." Lady murmurs.

"Hey John."

"Hey Candice."

"So what's going on with you and Lady?"

He sighs heavily. "She broke up with me."

"Oh that's too bad." says Candice pouting. She runs her finger lightly up and down the back of his neck while saying "She must be crazy to let a man like you go." John chuckles.

Hearing his laughter, Lady says, "Guess he's not as upset as I thought."

Shawn sees her white-knuckling the armrests and hopes that her strong emotions will make her see the light.

John pushes Candice's hand away. "Look I know what you're trying to do. Stop!"

"Fine! I was just trying to comfort you."

"The only thing that's going to comfort me is sleeping through this flight."

"You see that?" Shawn asks. "He doesn't want anything to do with her. _You _are the only woman he wants."

Lady begins to relax. "He'll be okay." Her voice cracks, "It's better this way."

_October 31, 2005 Monday Night Raw_

After changing into her uniform, Lady exits the locker room. "Mrs. Cena!" comes Eric's voice from behind.

She stiffly turns and stares at him. "What?"

"Rumor has it that there's trouble in paradise. Does this mean that you'll be calling the match in Shawn's favor tonight?"

She scoffs. "First off, my and John's personal relationship is _none _of your business. And no, I'm not going to favor Shawn tonight. I'm going to call it right down the middle, so just deal with it!" she says before stomping off. She turns the corner and bumps into John. "H...hi!"

"Hi." he replies. "I heard what you said to Bischoff."  
"Well we promised we'd keep business and personal separate."

"Yeah. And you also made me promise that if things didn't work out, we'd stay friends. I want that Beautiful."

"So do I." She looks deep into his eyes. "John I'm..."  
He puts his finger to her lips to shush her. "Lady, I don't regret one second of our short time together." He pulls her into a sweet embrace.

She holds him tight and fights back tears. _"I know I did the right thing, so why does it hurt?"_

He kisses her cheek before releasing her. "Love the uniform!" he says looking at her striped halter-top and low rise black pants.

She chuckles. "Thanks."

"Listen, if Angle interferes stay out of his way."

She groans. "Okay."

"Promise?" he asks.

"I promise."  
"Okay, see ya out there."

Both Shawn and John give their all in their match. Lady does her job of refereeing as best she can. John hits the sidewalk slam and then the five-knuckle shuffle. He goes for the FU but Shawn reverses and hit some chops, then a flying forearm. Shawn kips up and hits an atomic drop then a couple of clotheslines. He hits a scoop slam and goes up top. He goes for the elbow but John rolls out of the way! Kurt hits the ring and stomps on Shawn! Lady calls for the bell and leaves the ring. Kurt stomps on John and hammers him with right hands. He then gives Shawn a belly to belly. Kurt pulls down the straps but John nails him with a clothesline. He goes for the FU, but Shawn nails him with Sweet Chin Music! Lady stares in shock!

_Taboo Tuesday_

Lady walks into John's locker room. "Hey." she says.  
"Hey." he replies, pulling his shirt over his head. "So it's official. Shawn's the third man in the match." He smirks. "You still gonna do your wifely duty?"

She laughs. "Yes! I'm going to support my husband."

"Good. Let's head out there."

John stares down both Shawn and Kurt. Before exiting the ring, Lady take his face in her hands and gives him two soft pecks on the lips. For a moment John is stunned but realizes he must focus on the match.

A few minutes into the match, Lady realizes that Shawn and Kurt are working together against John. "Oh no!" She dashes around the corner of the ring just as they send him shoulder first into the ring post. He falls to the outside. She tries to tend to him, but Kurt attacks so she backs away. She sees Shawn clearing off the Spanish announcers' table. "Shawn..."

"Lady just stay out of the way." he says gently moving her back. They drop John, face first through the table with a double suplex. She rushes to his side and strokes his face. "Cena?" she whispers. She stays by John's side as she watches Shawn and Kurt work each other over inside the ring. Suddenly she sees John blink. She leans down. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Just tell me what's going on."

"Shawn just kicked out of a two-count...Kurt's pulling down his straps."

John hits the ring! Lady stresses when Kurt locks in the ankle lock and sees John in trouble. John crawls for the ropes, but Kurt drops down, adding a grapevine to the move. Shawn goes to the top rope. "Hold on!" Lady pleads with John. Shawn gives Kurt an elbow drop. Lady tends to John as he rolls to the edge of the ring. Shawn nails Kurt with Sweet Chin Music then John gives the Shawn an FU for the win.

As they prepare to leave the arena, John asks Shawn, "Hey man no hard feelings?"

"Nah, you did good kid. You did real good." Shawn pauses briefly before saying, "Hey John...I need a favor...and I know it's short notice, but I'd be eternally grateful. What are you doing on Thursday?"

"Nothing man. I'm free after Lady's and my photo shoot tomorrow. What do you need?"

"Well do you think you could watch my kids on Thursday? You'd just have to stay at my house and look after them and you'd have someone helping you."

A look of disbelief takes over John's face. He chuckles, "You want _me _watching your kids? What about lady?... Oh wait...she's the other person that'll be watching them, right?"

"Alright I can't lie...yeah she is. Look I've seen how you are with kids. You're great! I just thought it would be a good idea to ask you. I mean what if Lady has an attack while babysitting?"

"You're right, she should have some help. But why do I get the feeling this is about you trying to get Lady and me back together?"

Shawn puts his hands up and insists, "It's not! I know it may seem that way but it's not."

"Come on Shawn, you really expect me to believe that."

"Okay fine! I thought it would maybe give you two a chance to talk."

John hangs his head. "What's there to talk about? She can't get over Nate so...it's over."

Shawn places a comforting hand on John's shoulder. "This isn't about Nate." John looks at him questioningly. "Not in the way you think."

"So you think there's a chance I can get her back?" John asks hopeful.

"Yeah I do. There's a lot that you don't know, John. A lot that Lady needs to explain."

John thinks for a moment. "Okay. Just gimme directions to your house and tell me what time to be there."

_Wednesday_

"So you think you can cover it up?" Lady asks.

"Yeah, we'll fix it." says Kat, the make up artist.

"Good morning Beautiful." John says entering the room.

"Look at me and see if you still call me 'beautiful'."

He looks at her face and becomes concerned. "What happened?" he asks.

"It's a rash that comes and goes with the Fibromyalgia. It's okay just annoying."  
"Well I'll always think you're the most beautiful woman in the world." he states before leaving the room.  
"I can't believe you broke up with him." says Kat.

"I had my reasons." says Lady.

"What? Insanity? If a guy loved me the way John loves you, I'd never let him go... Especially if I loved him back."

"Okay now that I got some good, possible cover shots; I wanna see some wrestling moves." says AJ the photographer.

"What like this?" Lady says grabbing John in a headlock.

John chuckles. "Oh good one Miss Thing."

She squeals as he picks her up and gently sends her to the mat with a spinning backdrop. He looks down at her mischievously. "_Don't _even think about it Cena! NO!" She laughs as he picks her up and drapes her across his shoulders in the FU position.

AJ, who's been snapping away says, "Lady brush your hair outta your face and look at the camera."

"Okay now some workout photos. John, how about you doing some pull-ups with Lady wrapped around you?"

"Um alright." John says. Lady hops on his back and crosses her arms across his chest. She rests her head on his shoulder.

"Look in love." says AJ. "Like that'll be hard to do." After the pull-ups, John does a few push-ups with Lady lying on his back. "Now you know we _have _to have some kissing pics." John turns over on his back, places his hand on the back of Lady's head and pulls her down. He gently brushes his lips over her, she responds by doing the same. He pulls her down closer, deepening the kiss. After a moment AJ says, "Okay great job!"  
"Are, are we done?" Lady stammers.

"Yeah."

"Good" she replies before darting out of the room.

Lady walks through the long hallway toward the exit. She stops when she hears a familiar song coming from the office.

_You're afraid and it feels like you're too tired to fight  
Even your heart don't know if you're still alive  
Man, you never felt so all alone in this world tonight  
And I, don't you know that I felt the same?  
I've seen this storm, I've been through the rain  
You've gotta know that I feel your pain _John arms reach around her from behind. _  
Don't be afraid _She turns to face him and snuggles into his chest._  
When you're on the edge, I will rescue you  
When you need a friend, I'll be there for you _

_I'm nobody's hero  
For you I'd lay down my life  
Nobody's hero  
But I'd tear down the stars from the sky  
If you would lean on me, baby, dream on me _She knows how much he loves her._  
You can bleed on me, just believe in me _"He just wants to take care of me" she thinks.

_Nobody's hero  
Well out on these streets  
They're waiting for blind eyes to see  
They're waiting for our cuts to bleed  
Out here they're waiting for you and me  
Well alright, alright  
'Cause this time you know I ain't afraid to fight _He gently kisses the top of her head._  
For you I ain't afraid to die  
As long as you are by my side it will be alright _She clings tighter to him._  
When all faith is gone, I will pray for you  
Just keep holding on, I'll be there for you_

_I'm nobody's hero _She looks up and they gaze into each other's eyes._  
For you I'd lay down my life  
Nobody's hero  
But I'd tear down the stars from the sky  
If you lean on me, you can bleed on me _She caresses his face.  
_Baby, dream on me just believe in me _He leans down closer.  
_Nobody's hero _There lips meet in a magical kiss.

_I'm nobody's hero  
But for you I'd lay down my life  
Nobody's hero  
But I'd tear down the stars from the sky  
If you lean on me, you can bleed on me _She nips at his bottom lip. _  
Baby, dream on me, just believe in me _He slips his tongue in her mouth._  
I'm nobody's hero  
Nobody's hero  
Baby, lean on me, you can dream on me _

_Just lean on me, just believe in me _

She pushes him away. "Stop!"

"Lady..."

"I have to go!" She runs out of the building.

He stares after her, hurt yet determine. "I'm gonna get you back, Beautiful. You _will _be mine again."


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: I don't know or own anyone associated with the WWE or their families.

"What time do I have to pick up Cameron?" Lady asks Rebecca.

"2:30. Shawn's already called the school to let them know, just make sure you have your photo I.D. ready to show them."

They hear a car stop in front of the house. "Are you and Shawn expecting someone else?"

"Uh...yeah." Rebecca stammers. "Shawn thought it would be a good idea if you had some help...in case you have a bad spell or something."

"O...kay. Who is it?" Rebecca doesn't answer. Lady groans. "He _didn't...?_!"

"Hey!" She hears Shawn say, welcoming the guest.

"Hey man!" replies John.

"He _did_!" Frustrated to she stomps out of the nursery.

Rebecca stops her at the doorway. "Lady, you _need _to talk to John. You need to explain why you broke up with him."

"What is Shawn programming you?! Have you ever even met John?!"

"Once briefly, at the Hall of Fame ceremony this year. But I trust Shawn's judgment. He says that John really loves you. And Shawn loves you like a sister. He'd not want you with just anyone! So John must be a pretty nice guy."

Lady sighs. "He is."

Rebecca smiles. "Come on. The sooner Shawn and I get out of here, the sooner you and John can start your adventures in babysitting." she says nuzzling Cheyenne's neck, making her giggle.

The gals enter the living room. "John, you remember my wife Rebecca?" asks Shawn.

"Yes. Nice to see you again." John says to Rebecca.

"Nice to see you as well."

"Hey John." Lady mumbles.  
"Hey." He tears his eyes away from her and looks at Cheyenne. "Who's this little cutie?" he asks rubbing her cheek. She grins!

"This is Cheyenne." replies Rebecca.

Cheyenne practically jumps out of her mother's arms into John's. He laughs! "Well hi sweetie!"

Lady lights up at the sight. Shawn puts his arm around her and whispers. "You better work fast to your man back, looks like my little girl's giving you some competition." Lady just laughs and shakes her head. Cheyenne jabbers as she pulls John's cap off his head. "Well it's time for Mommy and Daddy to get outta here." says Shawn. Shawn and Rebecca kiss Cheyenne then the adults say their goodbyes.

"Tell Mommy and Daddy bye-bye." John tells Cheyenne.

"Bye-bye" she replies pulling John's cap over her tiny head. Lady chuckles.

"So what have you girls got planned for today?" John asks.

"Um...play, watch TV, have lunch later. Naptime. I gotta pick Cameron up from school at 2:30." She walks over and sits on the couch. "I can't believe Shawn got you to come here."

John takes his cap from Cheyenne, hands her to Lady and sits next to them. "Well...it's just in case you need some help."

"Right!...I know he's trying to get us back together."

John chews his lip thoughtfully. "Look, I'm not gonna pressure you...but whatever's going on Beautiful...I hope you'll let me in. I mean how can we really be friends if you won't lemme in on what's going with you?"

She nods. "You're right. I just need some time." She feels Cheyenne tugging on her bracelet. "Oh...I I should have...Let go..." She gently pries it from the baby's fingers. "Should have given this back to you." she says handing it to John.

He shakes his head. "No! It was a gift." He fastens it back around her wrist. "It's yours, keep it!" There is a long silence as John watches Lady just glow as Cheyenne plays with her bracelet and long fingernails. "That looks so natural and perfect."

Lady looks at him. "What?"

"You with a baby. It just looks so...meant to be."

She smiles. "Well I told you I've always wanted to be a mother."

"And a wife." he says. He moves closer to her. "Something else that seemed meant to be was us yesterday. The photographer could see it. I _felt _it!.. in the way we held each other in hallway." He runs his hand through her hair. "The way we kissed." he says in a soft voice.

"Stop it!" she snaps startling Cheyenne. "I'm sorry." Lady apologizes to the child. She puts her down in the floor with some toys and turns back to John. "You said you wouldn't pressure me."

"I'm sorry. But I can't just stop loving you and wanting to be with you."

"I know." She sighs. "Please, I just don't wanna talk about it right now."

Lady is moved by how well John and Cheyenne interact. She laughs as John "bench presses" the tiny child. _"He'll make such a good dad." _"Are you two ready for some lunch?"

"Yeah I think we've worked up an appetite." John says. He fixes Lady and himself some turkey sandwiches as she feeds Cheyenne. He makes a disgusted face at the substance Cheyenne is eating. "What is that?"

"Baby food potatoes and green beans. She loves it!"

"Yeah I can see that." he chuckles. "Why don't I finish feeding her while you eat?"

"Uh...okay." As she hands him the jar she notices something. "You're wearing your ring."

He looks at the white gold and cubic zircon band he acquired during their fake wedding. "Yeah. I...just automatically put it on when I'm not gonna to be wrestling."

"I...usually wear mine too but didn't today cause of babysitting." she says uncomfortably. Cheyenne fusses and reaches for her food. John sits down and begins feeding her. The next several moments are spent in awkward silence.

John cleans up the kitchen at Lady puts Cheyenne down for her nap. When she reenters the room he says, "We have to talk!" She shakes her head and proceeds to fix herself a glass of ice water. "Lady, I love you! And Beautiful with everything in me I believe that we could have something great."

"John stop." she murmurs.

He takes her face in his hands and turns her toward him. "I can't!" he insists. "Why did you break up with me? I thought it was cause you couldn't get over Nate, but Shawn says that's not the case."

She pulls away from him. "I have my reasons."

"What reasons?" he hisses.

Her heart aches at the pain she's caused him. _"It was for the best, I know it was!"_

"What reasons Lady? Please tell me." She fights back tears. "_Please _Lady. Tell me what's going on with you?"

She twirls around and snaps, "I'M SCARED!" The glass slips from her hand and smashes on the floor.

Cheyenne starts squalling from the nursery. "I'll go check on her." John says, stunned by what's just transpired. He goes to the crib and picks up the crying child. "Shh it's okay. It's okay sweetheart." She quiets as he rubs her back and sits in the rocker with her. She snuggles in his arms as he quietly rocks her. He then begins to think aloud, "I don't get it. I love her. Doesn't she know that I just want to take care of her?" Suddenly he remembers something. "That's it." He looks at the sleeping child and says, "Stay asleep now little one." He places her back in her crib. "Lady and I need to finish our talk."

She's sitting on the couch after cleaning up the mess. "I got it" he says sitting next to her.

"Got what?...The baby?"

"She's sleeping." He looks into her eyes. "I know why you're scared. I remembered in Sydney when you said you were afraid of losing your independence. I _promise _you I won't let that happen. I can take care of you without being overprotective."

"It's not just that John."

"Then explain it to me Beautiful."

"I hate being a burden. I mean my mother nearly died having me, and her health's been going down hill ever since. Then I get sick and can't do what I feel is my part to help out. I'm so grateful Shawn got me a job with WWE. But even there...I have folks worrying about me and watching me just waiting for me to have a bad spell. John I just don't want you to be worrying and looking out for me all the time."

"Beautiful when you love someone, you don't see them as a burden. You're more than glad to help them out during a tough time."

"I just want to protect you from the trouble I cause others."

He smiles. "I'm a big boy! I don't need and I definitely don't _want _to be protected from _you_." She smiles but he still sees a sadness is her eyes. "There's more isn't there?" She nods and begins to recall...

Flashback

"Why are you so quick to believe that Nate will change but then doubt that your life will get better?" asks Lorena.

"I don't know. There's just something about him."

"Lady, you think TOO much about Nate and not enough about Lady. You can't do anything to change his life, but you can change yours if you try."

End flashback

"Nate consumed me. Lorena was right; he was my escape from everything else. I was so afraid of failing that I didn't even try to fix the things that I maybe could've changed. So, I just worried about him and all the things that he needed to change."

"But you've changed now." John assures. "You're turning things around for yourself. Helping your mom financially."  
"But I'm scared."

He strokes her face. "Why?"

"The feelings that I had for Nate were _so _strong. The intensity nearly crushed me at times. I thought he was the love of my life. It took me a long time to realize that well maybe he's not. If he's not then that means I can love someone else even more than I loved him." She looks deep into his blue eyes. "John, I am falling in love with you... And I'm afraid that it'll be too much for me to handle."

He smiles and leans close to her. "How 'bout this? We give this another shot, and if at any time I think that you're..." He struggles to think of the right words.  
"Becoming obsessive." she says.

"Yeah. I promise I'll let you know that you need to chill out. Please Beautiful, give us another chance."

She takes his lips with hers. After a moment of tender kissing she pulls away. "Okay."


	22. Chapter 22

He pulls her close. "I love you so much!"

She looks into his eyes. "I love you too." she whispers. She yawns and stretches.

"Tired?"

"Yeah."

"Take a little nap. I'll get Cheyenne when she wakes up."

"Okay." She gives him another kiss.

He watches television as his love sleeps on his shoulder. Cheyenne begins crying. John gently lays Lady on the couch then goes to the nursery. "Hey sweet girl!" he calls as he enters the room. "Come here." He lifts her out of her crib and gets a whiff of her diaper. "WHOA!" He coughs. "Oh man!" _I wish Lady wasn't asleep right now. _"It's okay. You can do this Cena." He carries her over to the changing table. "Be patient with me Sweetie. I've never done this before." He gets a clean diaper and the baby wipes from the shelf under the table. "Okay here we go." He removes her pants and opens the dirty diaper. "Oh geez." He coughs again and gags. The baby giggles. "Oh you think this is funny do you? I had a feeling that concoction we fed you at lunch would create this kind of toxic waste." He gently cleans her up and grabs the clean diaper. "Okay which way does this thing go?" He turns it in every direction for a moment then figures it out. "Ah, okay, ducks in the front." He picks her up and says, "Thank you for being such a good girl and not fussing while I was trying to get through that." He kisses her cheek.

"Oh what is this Mr. Cena?" He turns to see Lady standing in the doorway. "You beg me to take you back; and I catch you flirting with another girl."

John laughs. "Well now, normally I wouldn't but...Look at this little darlin'. Can you really blame me?"

She walks over to them and takes Cheyenne from him. "No I can't." She kisses the child on the cheek, then John on the lips. "Stinky diaper?"

"Oh yeah! How does something so small create such a big mess?" Lady chuckles. "I'm gonna go scrub my hands with a Brill-o pad." He jokes and exists the room.

Cheyenne babbles after him. "He's coming back." Lady assures as she carries the child into the living room. "You like John don't you? So do I." She sighs. "But it wasn't always that way."

Flashback

_June 27, 2005_

"I can't believe you've teaming with Cena." she whines.

"Lady, what do you have against the guy?" Shawn asks.

She struggles for an answer. "He...the guy just... He just bugs me." she murmurs.

"He actually kinda reminds me of myself in my younger days."

"Why would you say that?"

Before Shawn can reply John enters the locker room. "Oh hey. Am I interrupting?" he asks.

"I'm gonna go find Chris." Lady says trying to avoid staring at the gorgeous man.

End flashback

Sitting in the floor with Cheyenne; she says, "I had no idea why your daddy said what he did until we had another talk a couple months ago. I told him that I didn't want to get over one bad boy just to fall for another one." Suddenly it hits her! "Oh my gosh! I didn't dislike John. I didn't _want _to like John. _That _was the problem. I didn't want to like John because he reminded me of Nate."

"I remind you of Nate?" John's voice comes from behind. She looks up at him. "So that's it. You only want to be with me now because I remind you of him." She sees the hurt in his beautiful eyes.

"John no! Come here." She leads him over to the couch. "There are similarities between you and Nate. Differences between me and you guys. Your live for the day, no regrets, go with the flow attitudes. Granted you're not completely screwed up like Nate is but... I guess the fact that there are similarities made my subconscious not want to become attracted to you." "But you love _me _right?" he asks.

"I told you, I _am _falling in love with you. You said that Liz will always have a special place in your heart. You have to understand that I'll always love Nate in some way. Just because I was never involved with him doesn't mean my love wasn't very real." Unsure of how to respond he stares at the floor. "It's time to go pick up Cameron. Do you wanna stay here with Cheyenne or you two come with me?"

"Why don't we just come with you? You got a car seat for her?"

"Yeah. Shawn put it in my car when I got here."

John plays patty cake and peek-a-boo with Cheyenne while Lady goes in the school to get Cameron. He climbs out of the car as they approach.

"Cameron, this is John Cena. He works with your daddy and me, and..."

"Is he your boyfriend?" the boy asks matter-of-factly.

John laughs as Lady blushes. "Yeah! He's my boyfriend."

"It's nice to meet you." Cameron says reaching out his hand.  
John shakes his hand. "Nice to meet you little man."

After helping Cameron with his homework, John takes him outside to play ball. "Good arm!" he says catching the ball.

"Thank you. Hey John are you gonna have kids one day?"

Being completely caught off-guard by the question John begins to stammer, "Um..I I...yeah hope hopefully one day."

"After you marry Lady?"

John chuckles. "Yeah. After I marry Lady."

Lady walks out on the porch with Cheyenne.

Oblivious to their presence, the fellas carry on their conversation. "Do you love Lady?" the boy asks.

"Yes, very much!" John insists.

"Does Lady love you?"

John looks up and sees her. "That you'll have to ask Lady yourself."

They run up to the porch. "Hey Lady." Cameron says.

"Hey what?"

"Do you..." he's cut off by the sound of a car pulling up.

"I think mommy and daddy are back." she says. The four head inside.

"So they weren't any trouble?" Rebecca asks.

"Of course not." Lady insists. "John had a great experience. First diaper change, stinky diaper."

"Yikes." Rebecca laughs.

"I can't believe how wonderful he was with them both. He'll make a really great father."

_Outside_

"Little Man over there put me through an interrogation."

Shawn laughs. "Well he adores Lady and just wants to make sure everything's working out for her." He sees a contemplative look on John's face. "What on your mind?"

John sighs. "When Lady first told me that her dream is to be a wife and mother...I thought that hopefully one day she'll be the mother of my kids. Then I only thought that because I want her to be happy. But now, after spending the day with your kids...I'm actually thinking being a dad might be kinda nice."

"It's the greatest thing in the world." Shawn proclaims.

John smiles and takes Cheyenne from her father. "What do you think? You think I'll make a good dad?" She kisses his nose.

"Hey!" Lady plays upset over the scene. "What do you think you're doing little girl? He's MY boyfriend!" She takes her from John. "You little rascal."

"Oh come on." John says as he stands. "You can share with just this one gal can't ya?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

He just smiles as he wraps his arms around them. _"You, me and a beautiful baby of our own. That would be the most incredible thing in the world."_


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: I made a booboo folks and accidentally posted this as chapter 22 so back up and read chapter 22 please. Thanks.

John goes with Lady to her house to help her pack for the house shows. She listens to her earphones while hunting for some magazines. She stumbles across an envelope of pictures. She opens it and discovers that it's pictures of the time she met Nate. Such pain hidden in his eyes. Pain that he tried to mask with alcohol.

She shakes herself back into the present. She turns around and gasps; dropping the pictures. "Gosh you scared me."

"Sorry." replies John. "These what you were looking for?" He hands her the magazines.

"Yeah thanks."

"You've got a nice voice." he says.

"Thanks."

He picks up the pictures. "Beautiful, why are you wasting your time looking at these?"  
"Excuse me?" she snaps.

"With all of Nate's problems, don't you realize that you're better off not having gotten involved with him?"

"Of course I do. But..."

"I know. What you said at Shawn's was right. I still care a lot for Liz, so I do understand Nate being special to you. On the other hand, I was actually with Liz, so I'm not wondering about what could be." He pulls her close and looks into her eyes. "Lady, I don't want Nate coming between us. I don't want you always wondering about what might happen, what could have been. You have to tell me right now! Are you willing to let him go?"

She stares into his captivating blue eyes. _"This is real. This isn't me being in love with John loving me. I love **him!**" _She claims his lips and slips her tongue into his mouth. He eases himself onto the bed with her on top of him. She ends the kiss and whispers, "Yes." She climbs off him and sits up. "I love you Cena. I want this to work."

He sits up and wraps his arms around her. "It will."

_Saturday_

Lady tries to psych herself up for her first one-on-one match. Sure it was against Maria and both were kinda new to the ring but still she wouldn't have any backup. Just John at ringside cheering her on. She smiles at the thought.

Suddenly she hears a ruckus. "Get him out of here!" Eric yells. "Who let this guy come to work drunk?!"

Lady sees event worker being dragged out by security. The man, at a glance could be mistaken for Nate. Same blond hair, same build, similar tattoos.

Flashback

"Okay..." yells Nate. "Everybody gather around the bar. Seven shots of tequila for anyone up for the challenge!"

She walks half-way across the room towards him but stops. Her nerves are already shot and she knows if she goes to the bar he may try to force booze on her. Shaking, she tracks down Lorena. "I'm leaving!"

"Are you okay?" Lorena asks.

"Do I look okay?!" She looks at Nate as tears fall from her eyes. "I just can't understand why someone with so much greatness in them would do this to themselves."

End flashback

She knocks on Shawn's dressing room door. "Come in." he calls.

"Hey." she says stepping inside. "I need to talk."

He sees the sadness and confusion on her face. "I can see that. Have a seat."

She tells him about the incident from Thursday evening and the flashback about Nate. "Yesterday everything was fine. But now I'm starting to wonder..."

"Lady, do you love John the same way you loved Nate when you first fell for him?"

She thinks for a moment. "I...no. I don't think so."

"Are you _really _falling in love with John?"

"I think so."

"Here's the biggie; do you _want _to fall in love with him?"

She smiles. "Yes I do! I really do."

"So you know what you have to do. You can still pray for Nate to get himself straightened out. But everything else. You have to let it go Lady. And just work on this relationship with John."

"You always know the right thing to say."

"Well I do try." he says with a laugh.

"Hey you." John pulls her into a hug when she comes out of Shawn's room.

She kisses him. "I love you."

He smiles. "I love you too."

"The Champ and Mrs. Champ both pulling off wins tonight! Are we awesome or what?" she says.

He laughs. "We are pretty good at what we do."

"Wanna come in for a minute?" she asks when they reach her room.

"Alright." They step inside and she closes the door. When she turns around he grabs her and starts dancing. "These Arms of Mine..." he sings.

She laughs. "I love these arms of yours." She slides her arms inside his unbuttoned jersey, wraps her arms around his waist and lays her cheek against his bare chest.

He squeezes her tight. "I missed holding you."

She looks up at him. "I'm sorry I hurt you."

"Don't be sorry. We got through it that's what matters." He leans down and she catches his bottom lip between her teeth making him chuckle. They share a sweet kiss before he says, "I'm gonna go now and let you get some rest. Goodnight Beautiful."

"Goodnight."

"I love you." they proclaim simultaneously.

She kisses him once more before he exits the room.

_November 7, 2006 Monday Night Raw_

Sunday had been an incredible day! Jady had again won their respective matches and celebrated with a nice, quiet dinner at the hotel. She laughed as she rubbed her face. It was sore from all the kissing and smiling she'd been doing. She sits behind John on a bench and kisses his neck. "So who do you think Angle picked to be the special referee?"

"With Angle, I wouldn't even venture to guess." he answers. She groans softly as she nuzzles against him. "You okay?"

"My sinuses are bothering me?"

"Hey. You two ready?" Shawn asks as he enters the room.

"Yep. Let's go." replies John. The three head out for Shawn and John's match against Angle and Masters.

To their dismay, the person Angle had chosen to be the referee was Daivari. He counted ridiculously slow whenever John or Shawn got a cover. And of course tried to make quick three-counts for Angle and Masters. Angle grabs a chair! He slides the chair to Masters who hits Shawn in the midsection with it. Shawn comes back with a boot, grabs the chair and goes after Masters but Daivari grabs the chair and calls for the bell. Winners by disqualification: Angle and Masters. _"What a joke!" _Lady thinks. Shawn nails Masters with Sweet Chin Music then Angle clotheslines Shawn outside. John comes in and goes after Angle but Daivari hits him in the back with the chair! Daivari raises Angle's in celebration of the win. The celebration is cut short when Lady nails Angle across the back with a Kendo stick she'd grabbed from under the ring! She then takes it to the midsection of a shocked Daivari! She drops the cane and looks down at John writhing in pain. She starts toward him when suddenly everything goes black.


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: Eddie Guerrero's death is briefly mentioned in this chapter.

"I'm glad Vince gave Lady these days off." says Carly.

"Yeah! Hopefully she'll be over this sinus infection and ready to fly to Europe." replies John. "She scared the crap outta me Monday night when she fainted."

"She needs to get up and eat something." Carly states.

"I'll go check on her see if she's ready to get up." He enters Lady's bedroom. "Beautiful, are you awake?"

"No." she replies weakly.

He chuckles softly. He sits on the bed and pulls her into his arms. "Feel any better?"  
"A smidgeon." She stretches out her arm. "Water!" He hands her the half-empty bottle off her nightstand. She drinks it all, gasping for air between gulps.

"You need to eat something."

"Not hungry."  
"You still have to eat. Chicken soup?"

"Blech!"

He laughs. "Okay what then?"

"Hot chocolate and a peanut butter sandwich."

"Good choice." She stares at him. "What?"  
"I love you."

"I love you too." He places his lips on hers and she grunts. He pulls away.

"I can't breathe!"

"Sorry! I'll go fix your food."

A few days later, Lady sees John off at the airport. "I'll miss you." she says clinging to him.

"I'll miss you too." He looks down at her. "I'm glad you're better."

"Well I had you taking care of me, that helped a lot." She stretches up and meets his lips with a loving kiss.

"OH MY GOSH! YOU TWO ARE SO CUTE!" squeals a girl, startling them out of the romantic moment. "I'm sorry. I'm Megan. I'm a really big fan of you both. It's so great to see your on-screen romance isn't an act, and that you are really in love."

"Thank you." they reply. Lady is caught off-guard by the attention.

"I'm sorry to be rambling."  
"It's okay." assures John.

"Could I take a picture of the two of you?"

Lady looks at John then back at Megan. "Yeah sure."

The adoring fan takes the picture. "Thank you." she says before running to board her flight.

They hear the last call for John's flight overhead. "Well I better go. You know if you need anything at all, just call me." he tells her.

"I will. I love you." They kiss.

"I love you too." One more kiss before he heads to the gate.

Early Sunday afternoon; she picks up her last bag and heads out to her car. Her phone rings. "Hello?"

"Hey Beautiful."

"Hey! I'm getting ready to head to the airport now. I should be there right after the show is over."

"That's good." John says. "You feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you? You sound a little strange."

He hesitates. "I'm afraid I got some bad news."

Over the next few days, Lady got to experience a lot of in ring action as Trish had been sent over to Smackdown to even out the rosters. As she awaits her match she reads her Bible. John enters the room. "Hey." He sits and places his arm around her. "Are you okay?"

She sighs as a few tears fall from her eyes. "In Sunday school the other morning, my pastor said that you should make sure you're ready to go be with the Lord cause you never know when you're time's up. And then Eddie proved that. So I've been thinking a lot about my loved ones. You, my parents... And I'm gonna be honest...Nate."

Before John can respond Maria knocks on the doorframe. "Lady, we need to head out there."  
"Okay I'm coming." She wipes her face and kisses him. "I'll see you after the match."

He semi-watches her match as he ponders what she had said. Finally something in the ring catches his attention. Victoria takes Lady out with the Widow's Peak and gets the pin. His urge is to run out to her! When he sees her stand up on her own he is relieved. When she gets backstage her grabs her into a tight hug. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just stunned me a bit. I can't wait to get back to my hotel room and soak in the hot tub."

"Ooh that feels good." she sighs. John massages her neck as she soaks in her bathing suit in the hot tub.

"Hey do you and your mom have plans for Thanksgiving?"

"Yeah. We're going to one of my uncles' house. Gonna be a family reunion of sorts. One of my cousins hasn't seen most of us in 15 years."

"Wow! That'll be great to get everyone together. I was just gonna have y'all come to West New."

"I'd love to meet your dad and brothers. We got that show coming up in Boston next month."

"Yeah! I'm definitely gonna get you up to the house."

They share a sweet kiss before he goes heads to his room. "Ya know we've got that autograph session the day after Thanksgiving."

"Yeah, that'll be nice. Maybe we can do something then."

"Yeah, maybe" she says thoughtfully. As she lies in bed she forms a plan.

_Sheffield, England November 21, 2005 Monday Night Raw _

Lady walks toward the women's locker room as she listens to the person on the other end of the phone. "So everything's ready?... Great! I'll pick up the keys early Wednesday. Okay, thanks. Bye." She opens the door and is thoroughly shocked to see John with Candice standing in front of him naked! "GET AWAY FROM HIM YOU TRAMP!" She grabs John!" WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE?! THIS IS THE WOMEN'S LOCKER ROOM!"  
"I can ex..." he attempts to say.

She shoves him out the door! "GET OUT!" She turns her attention back to the now clothed Candice. She slaps her hard across the face! "Stay away from him! He doesn't need you; he has a real woman!"

"And I'm not a real woman?" Candice asks in a snooty manner.

Lady laughs and gestures at Candice's chest. "I think that's pretty obvious."

John anxiously waits for Lady in his dressing room. She walks through the door. "Look Lady, I I was just trying to get other superstars' opinions on Angle and...I did didn't realize that was the women's locker room. Candice, she just..." He's quieted when she pulls his face down to meet her lips. He returns the kiss and settles onto the couch with her on his lap. Their tongues dance in each other's mouths. Finally the kiss ends. "Wow. So I take it you're not upset with me." She shakes her head. "Where did you go off to earlier?"

"I had to make some plans." she says slyly.

"What kinda plans?"

"For us, for Friday."

"Really? Do I get in on what these plans are?"

"Nope!" she says with a mischievous grin. "But I'm sure you'll love it."

"I love any time I get to spend with you."


	25. Chapter 25

Lady arrives at the mall for her and John's autograph session. "Hey Beautiful." John hugs and kisses his love.

"Hey. You haven't gotten a hotel room yet have you?" she asks.

"Nope. Why?"

"Cause...you won't need one."  
"And just why not?"  
"You'll see." she says with a smile.

"You gonna tell me where we're going?" he inquires.

"Nope. We're almost there." She drives a little farther down a secluded road. "Here we are."

John stares mouth-agape at an exquisite log cabin. "Beautiful, it's..."

"Beautiful." she says.

He laughs. "Yeah."

"Let's go inside." she suggests, climbing out of the car. Once inside the cabin, "Ah, it's freezing!" she exclaims.

He pulls her into a warm hug. "I'll get us a fire started in the fireplace."

"Okay. I'll get our dinner ready."  
"You cooked?"

"Well the turkey, gravy and stuffing I got from my aunt. But the mashed potatoes and green beans will be all mine. And the desserts. How you like homemade butterscotch pie and pumpkin bread?"

"If I had any doubts about how much I love you, that right there just confirmed it." he teases making her laugh.

After they finish dinner, John goes out to the car to get their luggage. Until that moment he hadn't realized that there was just one bedroom with just one bed in it. "Uh, are you sure about this?" he asks Lady.

"Yeah." she assures. "I know we got a bit...hot in Sydney." She takes a deep breath. "I'm not an emotional wreck like I was that night, and we're in control of things. I think we'll be fine."

"Okay." he says. "As long you're okay with it."

"I've missed having you hold me when I sleep." she tells him.  
"I've missed holding you while I sleep." he proclaims.

In the bathroom, she changes into her pink jammies. She enters the bedroom to find John sprawled over the right-hand side of the bed, in his blue and green, plaid boxers. "Hey what are you doing on _my _side of the bed?" she asks.

"Getting it warm for you." he replies, sliding over to his side of the bed.

"Well thank you." She lies on top of him and gently kisses his lips. "I love you."

"I love you. Thank you for this amazing evening."

"You're very welcome."

They resume kissing. Her lips roam his chiseled chest and stomach. He grips the sheets to force himself to not enjoy the feeling _too _much. She reclaims his mouth and shifts their bodies so he's on top. She kisses his shoulder as he kisses her neck. Her hands start to knead his muscular back. He grabs them and pins them above her head, interlocking their fingers. They stare into each other's eyes before kissing resumes. Becoming lost in the moment she wraps her legs around his body. He lowers himself against her then almost instantly raises up and sits on the bed. "WHOA! Whoa...that was..." She jumps up, puts on her bunny slippers and dashes out of the cabin. "Lady!" On his way after her, he grabs a blanket off the chair. He goes out on the porch and welcomes the cold, autumn air. Seeing her obviously chilly, he wraps the blanket around her. "Why'd you run out?"

"Why did I do this to you? To _me_?"

"You're not making any sense."

"Sex without marriage is wrong! But I want you; oh I want you. And you...to tell a man he can't have sex and then make him want it that's just cruel."

He laughs. "Lady, you're a beautiful woman, plus I'm in love with you. So you could be standing a hundred yards away wearing a potato sack and I'd want you."

"Maybe. But it wouldn't be as _physically _uncomfortable."

"I'm fine I can handle it." He moves closer to her. "Believe me when I say that I will wait for you as long as it takes. You're worth it Beautiful."

"You're wonderful." she declares.

He pulls her close. "I am what I am right now because I love you. Now, what do ya say we go back in there and go to sleep in each other's arms?"

"I say let's go."

She rolls over and slowly opens her eyes. She finds herself alone and sits up. "John?"

"Good morning Beautiful." he says, entering the room carrying a tray of food.  
She beams! "What's this?"

"Blackberry pancakes that I'm pretty sure you were gonna try to surprise me with this morning."

"Yeah, I was. Did I not hide the evidence well enough?"

"No you didn't." They laugh. He gets a bite of pancake and syrup on the fork and reaches it to her mouth.

"It's _delicious_!" she exclaims.

He takes a bite. "Are pretty good aren't they?"

After they finish their breakfast they get ready to head to the airport.

_November 27, 2005 Survivor Series_

"Now do you see why I asked Vince to let me be a back up referee for your match?" she asks as they walk through the backstage area.

"Now do _you _understand why I said no way in hell? Lady I don't wanna think about what Angle and Daivari woulda done had you tried to get involved."

She sighs. "The main thing is you're still champ."

He smiles. "That's right. Which means you're still..."  
"Mrs. Cena!" Eric interrupts them.

"What?" she snaps.

"Well as you know Jillian Hall will be escorting Team Smackdown to the ring for the Elimination match. And since you used to be Shawn's valet..."  
"Sure, I'll go out there with Team Raw."

Hesitantly he replies "Thank you."

"Yeah, you're welcome."

Eric walks away and John laughs. "I'm gonna go shower."

"UGH!" He hears her groan as he enters the room. "What's wrong?" She's staring at her laptop.

"Well when we visit your family after you get back from Afghanistan, Bon Jovi's gonna be Boston that weekend. I thought maybe we could go but...both shows are SOLD OUT!" She pouts! "Oh well, maybe next time. I better get ready to head back out there. I love you." She kisses him and exits the room.

Seeing her disappointment gives him an idea. He picks up his cell phone and begins making calls.


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: I don't know or own anyone in the WWE, any of their families or any other celebs.

_December 5, 2005_

It's a nuthouse backstage at Raw. Everyone is wondering if Vince is going to fire Eric or not. Everyone but John! He is distracted by the sight on his computer screen. "This is perfect." he murmurs to himself. He types in his credit card information and his father's home address. _"I'm sure Fabo won't mind taking care of this me." _He calls his dad. "Hey! What's up?...Listen I need you do me a favor."

"Lady if you would be that uncomfortable being out there while I officially fire Eric, then you may stay back here." says Vince.

"Thank you sir. Even though I'm not his biggest fan I do feel a bit bad for him."

"Dad, I'm _not _moving too fast. You're gonna love her. She's the most amazing and... _inspiring _woman. I can't imagine being without her. So you'll take care of it for me? Thanks." He finishes talking to his father and goes to find his love. "Hey. Ready to go out there?"

"I'm not going. The whole trash truck thing, it's too much. Vince said I can stay back here."

"That's cool. I'll see you in a bit." He leaves her with a passionate kiss.

_On a plane to Afghanistan _

John states "I'm looking forward to seeing the troops, but I'm looking even more forward to getting back to Lady."

"I think she's looking forward to meeting your family." claims Shawn.

"I know they'll love her. I hope she'll love what I have planned."

"What's that?"

_In Texas_

"I guess our men and the others are still en route." says Lady.  
"Yep. That's a horribly long trip. But Shawn was looking forward to it." replies Rebecca.

"So was John."

"I've never seen you like this."

"Like what?" Lady asks.

"Since you got with John, you just glow! You're _really _happy with him."

Lady's quiet for a moment. Then softly she says, "I _am _happy with him."

"You think he's the one?" Rebecca quizzes.

"John, she's gonna love that!"

"You really think so?"

"Are you kidding? Ask just about anyone that knows her."

John laughs. "Yeah you're right!" He takes a deep breath. "There's something else."

"I...maybe." Lady mumbles.

"What's the problem?"

Lady sighs. "_Nothing! _John's great. I love being with him."

"I think he's the one you should marry."  
"Rebecca! Hey I know you and Shawn moved fast but...John's not gonna ask me to marry him anytime soon."

John chews his lower lip. "Come on, just spill it." Shawn urges.

"I'm going to ask Lady to marry me. Be my REAL wife."

"Well it's about time." They both laugh.

"You don't think it's too soon."

"Who am I to talk about "too soon"? Rebecca and I got married within six weeks of our first phone conversation."

"Wow. Do you think she'll accept?"

"I don't know. All you can do is hope for the best. I'm sure that even if she's not ready to accept, it won't end what you do have."

_On a plane to Boston_

She gently nudges him and kisses his cheek. "Cena." she whispers. He groans and slowly opens his eyes. "We're getting ready to land."

"Okay." He stretches. "You ready to meet my dad and bros?"

"Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it."

"Hey!" John excitedly greets his father and younger brothers with hugs. He puts his arm around Lady. "I want you all to meet the love of my life." The statement nearly stops her heart. "This is Lady. Lady this is my dad, my brothers Dan, Matt and Sean." The men all greet her.

"It's nice to meet you all."

"Could you guys help Lady get our things upstairs and show her the guestroom?" John asks his brothers.

"Are you coming?" she asks him.

"I'll be up in a bit."

"Okay." She heads upstairs with the brothers.

John turns to his father. "Did you get it?"

Mr. Cena goes over to a desk and opens a drawer. He hands John a package. "I hope it's the right one."

John opens it and a big smile spreads across his face. "It's the perfect one." He puts the object back in the drawer and goes upstairs.

"This place is beautiful." Lady says. "I can't believe you grew up here."

"I'm glad you like it. My brothers didn't tell you any lies about me or anything did they?" he teases.

She laughs. "No! Nothing like that. You are _so _exhausted. How about a nap?"

He thinks for a moment about his plans for the evening. "Okay, just a short one. Don't let me sleep long. Take one with me?"

"Sure." She awakes about a half-hour later and sees him still sound asleep, so she heads downstairs.

"Hello Lady. You have a nice nap?" asks Mr. Cena.

"Yes I did. Thank you for asking Mr. Cena."

"You can call me John. Unless that would confuse you."

"Uh no. You can be John and he's Cena." They laugh.

"Okay, that'll work."

"LADY!" John yells in a near panicking voice. He appears at the top of the stairs. "Get your shoes on and grab your purse! We gotta go!"  
"Go where? I thought we came to spend time with your family."

"And we will tomorrow. Dad, love ya but I got big plans for my girl."

"I understand." replies Mr. Cena.

"What kinda plans?" she asks.  
"You'll see." John tells her.

He stops the car and blindfolds her. "What are you doing?!"  
"Just chill. We're almost there."

Once inside the building he steers her around for a bit. Then he turns her toward him and removes the blindfold. After her eyes readjust she looks around. It appears to be backstage at an arena. She looks at him. "Where are we?"

"Hey you made it!" comes a voice she'd know anywhere.

She grows wide-eyed and becomes breathless. "Is...is that...?"

John grins. "Turn around and find out."

She slowly turns to see the one and only **Jon Bon Jovi**.


	27. Chapter 27

Lady lets out an excited squeal and braces herself back against John. "Oh my gosh!" she mutters as tears come to her eyes.

"Now there's no need for any of that." says Jon Bon Jovi. "Let's have a hug." He stretches out his arms.

Lady shakily hugs him, unable to control her tears of joy. She stares at him. "I can't believe you're...I'm..." She turns to her boyfriend. "_Cena _HOW did you do this?!"

He laughs. "I pulled some strings."

"From what I heard, he wasn't willing to take no for an answer." states JBJ.

"Well thank you _so _much." She hugs him. She sighs and wipes her face. "Okay, I'm fine now." The men laugh.

"Ready to meet the rest of the guys?" asks JBJ.  
"Of course."

They are introduced to Richie, Dave and Tico and Lady is given her choice of merchandise. Then it's showtime!

The couple sing along, and Lady even dances. John takes great pleasure in seeing her so happy. The show slows down as the band performs a few songs acoustically. During "I'll Be There for You" Lady catches herself changing the lyrics. She had once reworked them to fit her situation over Nate. John sees a faraway look in her eye and pulls her close to his side. "You okay Beautiful?"

She comes out of her daze. "Yeah. I'm fine." She kisses him softly.

Caught halfway between her dream-world of Nate and the reality of John's arms, she sings along. John's voice comes in her ear and joins her in singing the powerful words. She looks into his eyes and smiles.She tenderly kisses his lips and relishes in his love.

As they pull into the driveway John yawns. "Okay, time for you to get some sleep Mister!" Lady insists.

"Not just yet." he replies shutting off the engine.

"And just why not?"

He doesn't answer. Once inside the house he has her sit on the couch. "I have an early Christmas present for you."

"I thought we decided not to buy each other anything."

"_This _I have my reasons for." he says handing her a medium-sized box. She opens it to find a smaller box. She becomes confused. "John?"

He laughs "Just open it."

She doesn't notice when he gets up off the couch and heads over to the desk. She opens the box and finds _another _box. This time a flat, squared jeweler's box. She chuckles and opens it to find a Ziploc bag containing... "Two carrots?" She looks up and gasps! John is on one knee before her. In his hand is an opened ring box containing a two-carat marquise-cut diamond solitaire.

He takes the bag from her and holds her hand in his. "Beautiful, I know that we haven't known each other for that long, and we have been a couple for even less time. But I also know that I am deeply in love with you. I don't think you have any idea just _how _happy you make me. I have loved this storyline of us being husband and wife. I am ready for life to imitate art; I want to be your husband. So..." He takes a deep breath "Lady Jane Davis will you do me the honor of marrying me?"

She is completely numb from shock. "Wow." she finally manages to say.

His heart pounds waiting for her to say more. Then it nearly stops when she looks into his eyes. "John...I...I don't want to say no, but I...am not sure that I can say yes right now."

"I can take this slow if you want me to, Lady. But, I love you today and I will love you tomorrow. Beautiful I want you to be my wife and share my life from now on."

She is not sure what is keeping her from saying yes but she just can't say it. "I do love you; I don't want to hurt you." She strokes his face. "Can't we just enjoy what we have right now?"

He badly wants her to accept his proposal but he's happy to just have her in his life. "Of course. But you gotta do something for me."  
"What?"

He places the ring on her _right _ring finger. "Wear this until you are ready to take the next step then I'll put it on the appropriate finger. In other words, Lady Jane Davis will you do me the honor of _thinking _about marrying me?"

She chuckles and nods her head. "Yes I will."

He wraps her in his arms and claims her lips in an impassioned kiss.

Once she's ready for bed, Lady decides to slip into John's room. To her surprise he's still awake. "Hey Beautiful."

"Hey. You should be asleep already." she says walking over to the bed.

"Who are you, my mommy?"

She laughs. "No. I just want to take care of you."

"And that's just one of the many reasons why I love you." He raises the covers. "Come here."

She climbs in and snuggles against him. "Are you upset with me?"

"No!" he insists. "I've been lying here thinking about it and I understand why it seems too soon." He looks deep into her eyes. "You don't think I ask you marry me cause I want to get sex do you?"

"If I thought sex was your top priority would I have come in here?"

"I suppose not." He runs his fingers through her hair. "Sex or no sex the end result's gonna be the same."

"What's that?" she asks with a smile.

"Falling asleep with you in my arms." He tenderly kisses her. "Goodnight my love."

"Goodnight." she breathes. "I love you Cena."

Within moments they both drift into a peaceful slumber.

A/N: Lemme know if you think it woulda looked better had I left the lyrics in and I'll redo it.


	28. Chapter 28

Lady awakes the next morning and delights in the feeling of John's arm around her and breath on her neck. She looks at the ring he gave her. _"Why didn't I say yes?... It's not right yet. I'll know when the time is right." _She rolls onto her back and lightly kisses his lips. She tries to get up but in his sleep he tightens his grip on her. She stifles a laugh. She manages to slid out of bed and slip her pillow under his arm. She then tucks the covers around him before going downstairs.

John wakes up to the smell of bacon...wait _turkey _bacon frying. He opens his eyes and chuckles when he sees the pillow under his arm. His brother Dan bursts into the room. "John, your woman's cooking us breakfast! Get up man!"

He enters the kitchen and grabs his love from behind. "Good morning Beautiful." He kisses her cheek.

"Good morning. Hungry?"

"Starved. What all we got...besides the turkey bacon which I smelled?"

"She had me pick it up on my way back from the gym." states Matt. "We're Italian! We don't do turkey bacon!"

"Shut up! My woman cooked it, so you'll eat and like it!"

Lady laughs. "Besides that, we have scrambled eggs. And cause I'm a country girl, biscuits and gravy."

"Well what are we standing around for?" asks Mr. Cena. "Let's eat!"

"Lady you're a great cook." proclaims Sean.

"Thank you."

"If John ever screws up, I'll marry you." Lady laughs, while John's response is to smack him in the head.

The couple head into Boston early Monday morning. They stroll hand-in-hand through the busy sidewalks. Lady stops when a baby swing sitting in a store window catches her eye. John smiles at the light in her eyes. _"The sooner you say you'll marry me, the sooner we can buy one of those." _"I love you." he says in her ear.

"I love you too." She kisses him.

"Geez! Your nose is like an icicle!" he exclaims.

"I'm freezing!"

"Let's get some coffee and warm up."

They cuddle in a booth in a coffee shoppe. Lady sees two children approaching their table. "We have company."

John looks over to see the kids, a boy appearing to be about seven and a girl looking about ten. "Hey there."

"Hey." the children say.

"May we have your autographs?" asks the girl.

"Sure." answers John.

Lady sees them holding napkins and grabs her purse. "Here, I have something better to write on." She tears a couple of sheets out of her day-planner. "What are your names?"

"I'm Johnny.'  
"I'm Sheena."

John chuckles as Lady grins. "Johnny and Sheena? Nice names." he remarks. Lady signs the pieces of paper and hands them to John. He signs his name to them. He starts to hand them to the children then stops. "Wait one more thing." He signs "The Champ and Mrs. Champ."

Lady smiles and gazes thoughtfully at her ring.

_December 30, 2005_

John and Lady took a redeye flight from Erie, Pennsylvania to Tampa Florida. "I'm glad we get to spend the weekend at your place." Lady sighs as the cab makes its way from the airport.

"Me too. I hope you'll like it there." says John.

"I'm sure I will." She kisses him as her phone rings. "Hello?" she answers. "Hey woman!.. Just heading to John's house. We got the weekend off!.. Tampa. Really?! Yeah. John's having a little party at his place. His brothers are coming in and friends are coming over. You wanna come?" She turns to John. "Is it alright if Lorena comes to the party tomorrow night?"

"Yeah of course." he assures her.

"Thank you." She kisses him once more then turns her attention back to the phone conversation.

"John this place is great." she proclaims, looking around the enormous house.

"I don't get to spend much time here, but I like it pretty well." he affirms. "I'm gonna put your things in the guestroom and then if... I'll just put your things in the guestroom."

He starts to walk away but she stops him. "Thank you." she says softly.

"Lady, I don't just respect your values, I admire you for them."

They smile lovingly at one another then kiss. After a steamy moment he pulls away, "You definitely need..."  
"To stay in the guestroom." she finishes.

"Yeah."

She watches him exit the room and brings up her hand to brush her hair out of her face. She looks at her diamond. _"All you gotta do is marry him then you can have him any time you want. **WHAT?! **Okay, where did that come from? Marriage has to be more than sex...SEX has to be more than sex. It's gotta be romantic and emotional..." _She takes a deep breath and shakes herself out of her thoughts.

"Hey!" Lady greets her friend with a hug. "John this is Lorena."

He shakes her hand. "Nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you."

"I've heard a lot about you also. Nice to meet you."

"I need to pick up some stuff for the party. I'll be back later."

"Okay. I love you."

"Love you. See ya Lorena."

"Bye." says Lorena. She looks at Lady who's watching John head out to his car. "Nate!"

"Huh?"

"I don't believe it! I never thought I'd see this day! You are actually over Nate."

Lady's silent for a moment. "I'll always love him in some way. But John is so wonderful. He loves me and I _really _love him." She twirls her ring around her finger. "I've decided to tell him that I will marry him."

"What are you doing?" Matt asks John.

"Marking what's what. Lady doesn't drink and loves virgin daiquiris.

As the evening wears on John mostly hangs with his brothers and friends, while Lady and Lorena catch up. "Waiting till midnight to tell John you'll marry him?"

"Yep. I know it'll make him happy. He's been so supportive and patient."

Lorena's phone rings. "Hello?" She moves away to get better reception.

John comes over to Lady and grabs her into an aggressive kiss. She tastes the disgusting yet sweet taste of whiskey on him. She pulls away. "I love you." he states.

"I love you too." she replies feeling a bit tense.

He begins kissing on her ear and neck. "Let's go upstairs."  
"Excuse me?! John you're drunk. Come on let's sit down and I'll get you some water."

He pins her against the wall and grabs the hem of her mini skirt. "I don't want water. I wanna ring in our New Year right." He lifts the back of her skirt and runs his hand over her backside.

"STOP IT!" she screams drawing everyone's attention.  
He backs away from her. "Why you gotta be such a prude?" She slaps him across the face! "BITCH!" She runs out of the house upset!


	29. Chapter 29

Lorena runs after Lady. "Lady what happened?"

"He's drunk and he... I just need to get out of here."

"Come on." They climb in Lorena's rental car. "Listen, the phone call I just got; it was Nate."

"What did he want?"

"He's at a party. He wanted to know if I'd come."

"If he's wasted like John I don't wanna be anywhere near him."

"He sounded pretty sober." Lorena claims.

Lady sighs. "Okay let's go."

"Hey Nate."

"Lorena, hey you made it." He hugs her.

"This is Lady. You met her once before but I'm not sure you remember."

He locks eyes with Lady and becomes completely captivated. "No I don't remember, sorry. I wish I did though." What has just happened here? Looking at this woman has just sent him into a whole other world.

"Well it's nice to meet you again." Lady says slowly.

"I see a couple of other people I need to catch up with. I'll see you two later." Lorena says before dashing across the room.

Nate and Lady sit at the bar. "Can I buy you a drink?" he asks.

"Just water. I've already had two and a half virgin daiquiris. I'm on a sugar high."

"One bottled water and another ginger ale." he tells the bartender.

"You're not drinking?" Lady asks.

"No! I'm trying to make some changes in my life."

Her heart leaps with joy as she smiles. "That's really great."

As they sip their drinks Nate questions, "So Lady, nice name by the way." She chuckles. "What do you do for a living?"

"I'm a WWE Diva."

"Wrestling?!"

She nods. "You can see me on Monday Night Raw."

"Wow! So you get to kick ass or..?"

"I'm a valet but I wrestle too."

"I'm guessing it's not a good idea to piss you off huh?" he teases.

"Nope! Not a very good idea."

"You wanna dance?"

"Yeah sure."

Meanwhile back at John's, he stares out the front door. "Where did you go Beautiful?"

"John come on." says Sean. "It's almost time to start the countdown."  
"I don't care. I can't lose her."

"I'm sure she'll be back."

Nate and Lady stand out on a balcony and watch for fireworks in the distance. They hear folks counting down in the background. "10...9...8..."

"May I kiss you?" he asks.

The question nearly stops her heart. She can't speak but manages to nod. Slowly he wraps his arms around her and places his lips to hers. She hugs him back and returns the kiss. They barely hear the fireworks in the distance. The kiss ends and they look into each other's eyes. "Happy New Year." he says.

"Happy New Year."

An hour Lady and Lorena decide to leave the club. Lady dials John's cell, hoping someone other than he will pick up. "Hello?" comes a voice.

"Who is this?"

"This is Matt."

"Hey. It's Lady. Where's John?"

"Asleep."

"Good. Look I am going to stay Lorena but I wanna come pick up my things

"Lady you know he didn't mean it."

"I know. But..." she sighs. "I'll be there in a few minutes to get my stuff."

_That morning_

John groans as the sun peeps through his bedroom window. "Here's your coffee." Matt says sticking a cup under his nose.

"Thanks." He takes a sip. "Where's Lady?"

"She stayed with her friend." replies Sean.

"Why?" He rubs his face and touches a bruise left by her ring. "Ow. Oh man! What did I do?" His brothers look at one another. "What happened?!"

"Apparently you tried to get laid." states Matt.

John flashes back to how forcefully he handled Lady. "Oh no!" He hops out of bed. "I gotta call her! I gotta apologize!" He calls her phone and gets her voicemail. "Beautiful, it's John. Please I know that I _really _screwed up. I'm so sorry! Please call me back. I don't wanna lose you over this. I love you."

"John called." Lady says checking her phone. She listens to his message.

"I'm sure he's sorry." says Lorena.

"He is. Everything's just kinda of topsy-turvy now. With John doing what he did and Nate."

"Well if you don't have any messages from Nate, I gotta say that kiss last night was probably nothing to him. Sorry."

"I can't say that I'm surprised. I need some time before I see John again, so I'm gonna take any early flight out to New Jersey."

_January 2, 2006 in E. Rutherford_

John wonders around backstage looking for Lady. "Shawn!" He hurries over to him.

"Hey John. Happy New Year."

"No, not so far. Have you seen Lady?"

"Not yet."

" I screwed up. I got drunk and I did something that I _wish _I could take back. When you see her please just tell her how sorry I am."

"Yeah, of course." Shawn replies, seeing the seriousness in John's eyes. He goes to his dressing room and finds Lady waiting for him. He sits down and puts his arm around her. "I saw John. He didn't say what exactly happened but I believe he's truly sorry."

"I know he is." She proceeds to tell him about the incident and its aftermath.

Meanwhile John paces in his dressing room. "I can't lose her. _Please _don't let me lose her." he prays.

"Lady I can't tell you why these events occurred, but I am sure that you and John both can find lessons in them." Shawn advises. "I saw the look in his eyes. He knows how wrong he was and doesn't want to lose you."

"I've already forgiven him. I hope he forgives me when he finds out what I did."

She enters John's room. "Beautiful, I am so..."

"Shh. I know."

"I will NEVER let anything like that happen again."

"I believe you." she says, wrapping her arms around him.

"What happened when you left, why didn't you return any of my calls?" He asks, sitting down.

"Well..." She sits next to him and drops her purse.

One of the contents catches his eye. A napkin with a name and number written on it. He picks it up. As he reads it he becomes numb. "Nate?" he questions softly.

"Lorena got a call from him asking her to come to a party he was at. We went."

"What happened?"

"We talked and danced." She hesitates before continuing. "He asked if he could kiss me and I let him." John's numbness turns to a mix of anger and hurt. "I haven't heard from him since, so clearly it meant nothing to him."

He looks into her eyes. "WHAT DID IT MEAN TO YOU?! I will NOT be your second choice Lady!"

"You're NOT!" She strokes the bruise she left on his cheek. "I do love you Cena! Please forgive me and let's let this New Year be a new beginning."

He answers with a tender kiss that gets interrupted by a knock on the door. "It's open." he says before wiping her lipstick off on _the _napkin.

Shawn enters the room looking as if he's seen a ghost. "Lady there's someone here to see you."

In walks Nate holding a bouquet of flowers. "Hello again."


	30. Chapter 30

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews folks. Glad you're liking.

Shawn exits the room as Lady and John stand in shock. "Nate, wha...what are you doing here?" Lady asks.

"I couldn't stop thinking about you. I got online and looked up where you were gonna be tonight. Thought I'd come and surprise you."

She looks at John. If looks could kill Nate would be in serious trouble. "This is John Cena...he's..."

John extends his hand. "Lady's husband. Nice to meet you."

"HUSBAND?"

"In storyline." John explains.

Relieved, Nate states, "Oh okay. Nice to meet you." He shakes John's hand.

"Champ time for Five Questions." someone calls to John.

He quickly kisses Lady's lips. "I'll see you later."

Lady sits down. "Did I come at a bad time?" Nate asks as he sits next to her.

"Uh no. I'm just surprised is all." He hands her the flowers. "They're beautiful thank you."

"You got a match tonight?"

"No! And I'm banned from ringside for John's match."

"Why?"

"It's a First Blood match. I'm banned for safety reasons." She rolls her eyes. "And Daivari is banned so he can't help Angle, which is a good thing."

Nate's silent for a second then laughs. "A fake marriage and wrestling."

"Wrestling's often referred to as a soap opera for men." They both chuckle.

For the next hour and a half Lady and Nate talk while John fights the urge to eavesdrop. He's about to give into temptation when a cameraman walks up. He had forgotten about the promo he and Lady were supposed to shoot. The door opens and Nate and Lady exit. "Ready?" she asks John.

He and the cameraman enter the room and Nate watches the scene on a monitor. John and Lady speak their scripted lines, yet their eyes say so much more to each other. "I wish I could go out there with you."

"I know that you'll be cheering me on."

She wraps her arms around him. "Be careful." John just smiles before claiming her lips.

Nate feels ill at the sight. At the end of the kiss, Lady gently nips John's lower lip. Something about the way they look at each other makes Nate wonder if something more than a storyline is happening.

Lady anxiously watches the match on a monitor. Kurt busts John open with a chair shot. The ref calls for the bell. John attacks Kurt and Daivari cuts through the crowd. "Oh no!" Lady bolts but Nate grabs her.

"Lady..."

She pulls away from him only to be stopped by Vince. "Mr. McMahon please."

"Just a minute Lady." She looks back at the monitor to see Masters and Carlito hit the ring. Carlito stomps Daivari as Masters gets Kurt in the Masterlock. "Go." says Vince. Lady rushes to John's side just before Kane and Shawn hit the ring.

Lady helps John backstage and stands outside the room as medics tend to him. "Is he gonna be okay?" Nate asks.

"Yeah. Just gonna get cleaned up and rest for a bit."

"I'd like to take you out tonight. Ya know if it's okay with your husband." he teases.

She laughs. "Gimme a few minutes."

"Sure."

She goes over to John who's sitting up the exam table. "You know you're really making me look forward to the Elimination Chamber match."

"Well whatever happens happens. Just like with you and Nate." Lady doesn't know what to say. He wants to put her at ease. "You need to take this chance Beautiful. Go."

She wraps her arms around him. "I love you." she whispers.

"I know." he tells her. "I'll see you Sunday."

Nate parks a few blocks away from the club. As they walk Lady sees a dress in a store window. It looks very close to the one she wore to marry John. Marry John? She should marry John...No Nate was brought into her life for a reason. She had to find out if things could work for them.

They sit at a table in the back and talk. "Explain to me what the end of the show was all about, all those guys."

"Sunday there is going to be an Elimination Chamber match for the WWE championship." She gives him the details.

"Yikes. Doesn't sound pleasant. You banned backstage for it too?"

"No I get to sit at the announcers' table. With John _and _Shawn in the match, I'm _really _not looking forward to it."

"Shawn's a good friend?"

"Yeah. Best actually. Like a big brother to me. He helped me get my job."

A short while later Nate drops Lady off at her hotel and walks her to her room. "Good night." she says.

He leans down and kisses her. "Good night."

Over the next few days the two spend a lot of time together.

Sunday afternoon Lady enters John's dressing room. "Hey." he says.  
"Hey."

"Where's Nate?"

"He had some business to take care of; he'll be at Raw tomorrow."

"So things are going pretty good?" She nods. "Come here." She walks into his arms. "I just want you to be happy Beautiful." She knew he meant it, but how could she be happy knowing that she was breaking his heart?

Nate enters a Sports Bar just in time to watch the Chamber match. He sees Lady clinging to John as the other competitors enter the ring. Reluctantly she finally exits. Not before kissing John. Again with the lip nipping. _"Why hasn't she done that to me?"_

Lady helplessly watches the action. The hate the crowd is giving John irritates her. "I don't understand why they are hating him." She screams when she sees Shawn get busted open. King puts a comforting arm around her as she fights tears. Finally it's down to Masters, Carlito and John. Masters gives John a DDT into the steel and busts him open. Lady gets up from the table and goes to the officials. "As soon as this is over you let me in there!" she demands.

Carlito gives Masters a low blow and eliminates him. John rolls Carlito up for a pin and it's over! Lady can't make it to John fast enough. She kneels beside him biting her lip and hesitating to touch his bloody face as Vince comes out. "Raise the cage. Congratulations Mr. Cena on retaining your championship. Mrs. Cena would you please exit the ring." She hesitates. "Now Mrs. Cena." Confused the climbs out of the ring and stands at ringside. "The night isn't over. Tonight someone is cashing in his Money in the Bank contract."

"_He has to be kidding." _Lady thinks. But he's not. Edge and Lita make their way to the ring.

Lady watches in shock as Edge beats away at John. He nails a spear, somehow John manages to kick out. Another spear...this time a three-count. New WWE Champion Edge. Lady can't believe what she's just witnessed.


	31. Chapter 31

"Hey." Nate says entering John's dressing room.

"Hey." John replies, feeling annoyed at the other man's presence.  
"Where's Lady?"

"Wardrobe."

She enters the room and sees Nate. "Oh hi." She hugs him and looks at John. Being between them made her very uncomfortable. "Um...you like?" she asks John, removing her jacket. She reveals a green shirt with the phrase "HE'S STILL MY CHAMP!" in black.

John laughs. "I love it." He pulls her into a hug.

Nate cringes at the sight. _"They are co-workers and friends, relax!" _he tells himself.

John and Lady wrangle with Lita then head backstage. "Why don't you just hang with Nate?"

"You sure?" She hates hurting him.

"Yeah." he replies softly.

Lady and Nate watch the matches together. She does her best to answer all his inquiries about different maneuvers.

John tracks down Shawn. "Hey can I talk to you?"

"Sure. Lemme guess, wanna talk about Lady and Nate?"

"Yeah. What do you know about him? I mean Lady told that he is 'completely screwed up.'" He wriggles his fingers to show that he's quoting her. "What does that mean?"

"Well..." Shawn begins. "From everything she's told me, he has major self-esteem issues. Has dealt with drug and alcohol problems." He hesitates knowing the next part will likely anger John. "Been a womanizer."

John takes a moment to absorb the information. He sighs and rubs his hand over his face. "You think he can change for her?"

"You know my belief is that anybody can change with the Lord's help...but I'm not gonna lie, I don't really trust Nate when it comes to Lady."

"Okay that's it!" John determines. "I...I can't lose her to him! I won't take a chance on her getting hurt by him."

"Whoa just calm down. You know she's like my little sister. I don't want her to get hurt either...but we have to let her figure this out on her own."

John knows that Shawn is right but still feels uneasy. He groans, "Fine! But we gotta keep an eye on them."

"Sure." Shawn agrees.

"Ya know you're a lucky girl." Trish says when Lady exits a stall in the women's locker room.

"Huh?"

"Two hot guys head-over-heels for you. But you strike me as a one-man kinda girl. So Nate's presence mean things are over between you and John?"

"I don't know. These several days with Nate have been awesome but I hate hurting John."

"Well if you're really happy with Nate I believe that John loves you enough to let go." affirms Trish.

Lady enters the hallway to see John dashing out a door leading to the audience. She goes over to Nate who's staring at a monitor. "What's going on?"

"Ric Flair interrupted the sex show and this Edge guy has one chair under his head and is..."  
"About to deliver a conchairto." Lady states.

Nate looks at her and snickers at the name of the maneuver. He looks back at the screen and sees John stop Edge from delivering a second conchairto. The men brawl before Edge runs leaving Lita at John's mercy. Lady squeals in shock when he picks Lita up and over his shoulders! "Do it! DO IT! Please do it!" she yells at the TV. "YES!" She laughs as John FUs Lita. She throws her arms around his neck when he returns backstage. "That was awesome! I can't believe you FUed Lita!"

He hugs her back and he and Nate briefly glare at each other. "Well I was just trying to deliver a message to her and Edge." he says turning her loose. "Can I talk to you for a few minutes?"

She nods and turns to Nate. "I'll be back in a bit." He doesn't say anything but nods feeling a jealousy he's never felt before.

They enter John's dressing room. "I don't think Nate likes me." he states as he tugs on a fresh shirt. "Not that I can blame him considering the circumstances."

"If he finds out I have a boyfriend he'll be pissed."

"So then you won't have a boyfriend." John says frankly. The statement startles her. He moves closer to her. "Are you happy with him?"

She hesitates. "I've been having a good time with him." she proclaims while staring at her feet.

"Look at me." John insists. She looks up into his eyes. "Do you think that things could work out for you and him?"

Her eyes mist up. "I don't want to hurt you."

He pulls her close. "I just want the best for you whatever that is. As long you're happy I'll be fine." he declares with a crack in his voice. Again he asks, "Do you think things could work out with you and him?" She nods. "Okay then." he replies softly. "Hey at least I get to pretend you're my wife." he teases making her laugh. He holds her face in his hands and inches his face closer with each word, "I just need...one...last...real kiss." He places his lips over hers. She wraps her arms around him and deepens the kiss. He braces them up against the wall next to the door as they both weaken from the emotion. As he tries to end the kiss she holds his bottom lip between her teeth. He tugs it free and places another tiny peck to her lips. "Go." He opens the door and gently nudges her out of it. He closes the door and leans against.

She stares at it. Feeling a hand on her shoulder she turns to see Nate. "You okay?" he asks.

Was she okay? The man she loved and wanted for so long was standing in front of her, but the man whom she was falling in love with was on the other side of the door. She never in her life thought this could happen to her. How could she be torn between two men?


	32. Chapter 32

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. I understand the current Nate hate, but hope I can make him somewhat a sympathetic character.

It had been six days since John and Lady officially broke up. She and Nate had continued to have fun and get to know each other. It still amazed her how her dream seemed to be coming true. She and John head to the hotel after house show. "Two single-bed suites please." John asks the clerk.

She checks the computer. "I'm sorry, all we have is one suite."

John and Lady look at one another. He sighs. "We'll take it." he states tiredly. On the elevator he tells Lady, "I'll sleep on the couch. _You _need the bed."

She scoffs. "Right big ole you on a little bitty couch."

"Don't start with me woman; I'm too tired to argue."

Being worn out herself she agrees, "Fine."

When they enter their suite they are surprised to find NO couch. "Uh excuse me?" John stops a maid passing by. "Why isn't there a couch in here?"

"The last guest damaged it. We haven't gotten in a replacement yet."

"Okay, um could you give me some extra blankets please. I'll make a place on the floor."

"NO!" Lady objects. She turns to the maid. "Thank you but we don't need anything else." She closes the door.

"What are you doing?" John asks.

"We can share the bed."

"I...I don't think that's a good idea."

"We slept together after our close calls, I think we can sleep together now that we aren't a couple." She can see the wheels turning in John's mind trying to come up with an argument. "I won't go to sleep till I know you're comfy."

That did it! He laughs. "Okay fine."

They settle down back-to-back. "This is weird." she says. "I'd hate it if Nate were to innocently share a bed with one of his exes.

"He coming tomorrow?" John asks.  
"Yeah."

"That's nice. Well good night Beautiful." His heart aches as his nickname for her escapes his lips.

Her heart jumps at the word. "Good night."

John wakes to a surprise! Somehow in her sleep Lady had managed to entangle him with her right arm and leg. For a moment he allows himself to enjoy being wrapped up by his love. Then he aches. _"She's not yours anymore man." _

He gently and _gentlemanly _uses the back of his hand and forearm to push her leg away. The action awakens her. Once she's analyzed the situation she quickly pulls away from him. "Oh Cena I'm sorry!"

"It's okay. I was just trying to get free to get to the bathroom. Didn't mean to wake you." He goes to the bathroom. He comes out and sees a sad look on her face. "What's wrong?"

"I'm gonna talk to Vince about ending this storyline."

"No you're not." He sits next to her.

"John this isn't fair to you! Pretending we're a happy couple when we're not anymore."

"I can keep my personal feelings separate from my job." he insists.

"No I'm gonna talk to Vince, that's final!"

"Maybe you're the one that can't keep your feelings separate."  
"Wha...John...I..."

He chuckles and kisses her forehead. "Lady relax. You know I'd let you know if it was bothering me. Work is work; it's that simple."

_Monday Night Raw_

Lady cheers John on in the Masterlock Challenge and is suddenly hit from behind. She sees Edge enter the ring and hit John with the belt, then sees Lita off to her side. She realizes it was Lita who knocked her down, before she can react both Lita and Edge run off. "Are you okay?" Nate asks her backstage.  
"I'm fine! John's the one who's bleeding." She groans! "I am so..." She smiles slyly. "Going to talk to Vince."

A bit later John asks Nate, "Where's Lady?"

"She went to talk to your boss."  
"She did what?" _I thought it was settled that she wouldn't try to end the storyline._

She walks to them. "Hey." John looks sternly at her. "What?"

"You tell me. What did you talk to Vince about?"

He seems to read her mind as she thinks _Not that. _"He told me not to tell anyone, including you until next Monday."

"Sounds big." Nate says.

"It is." she confirms.

The next day Lady and Nate hang out at the mall. "I'm gonna run to the restroom." she says.

"Okay." He decides to pick up some pictures she had developed. He's shocked when the first several pictures are of Lady and John looking more than friendly in a house that's clearly not Lady's. He feels a hand on his shoulder and turns to see Lady. "What the hell is this?!" he barks, shoving the pictures at her. "What's really going on with you and John?"

"He was my boyfriend." she says quietly.  
"Was? As in isn't anymore?"

"Yes. Now it's strictly friendship and work. Let's go."

They go to the car. "What happened to break you up?"

She looks into his eyes. "You." _I can't tell him I was in love with him before now. _"He did something that upset and that's why I ended up at the club with Lorena. John and I were about to make up when you surprised me at Raw."

"You sure it's over with him?"

"Yes." She kisses him but he pulls away. "Kiss me the way you kiss him."

"What?!"

"You got this thing when you kiss him. The lip nibbling. You've never done that to me."

She attempts to kiss Nate that way but it just doesn't feel right. She stops. "Nate you're not John. It's not the same thing. I'm with you and kissing John is JUST work."

"Okay." He truly wanted to believe her but was afraid to let himself completely.

_Sunday_

Lady walks up to John. "Hey ready to kick Candice's ass?"

She laughs. "I hope. John you need to take this." She places her bracelet and ring in his hand.

Nate listens outside the door. "Lady they were gifts. Keep them."

"Cena, why you gotta be stubborn?"

"Looks who's talking." he teases. "Okay compromise. I'll take back the ring if you keep the bracelet."

"Deal. But would you hold onto the bracelet till after my match?"

"Sure."

Nate and John watch the match from backstage. "Are you in love with her?" John looks at him. "I know."

"Look as long as you're good to Lady; we got no problems."

"She must've been good to you to get that jewelry." Nate says in a haughty voice.

John knows what he's implying. "You son of a... She's a virgin. I respect that and if you don't..."

"She said doesn't believe in any kind of sex before marriage. Sometimes people say that and it's a lie."

"Well it's not with her." Nate backs against the wall as John stands mere inches away threatening, "And if you think you can't handle that or you think you'll get it somewhere else...I'm warning you. You better let her go right now."

Nate stares him straight in the eyes. "There's no problem."

_Monday Night Raw_

Lady stands along side John and laughs hysterically at all his HO jokes about Lita. Lita finally mouths off to John and then to Lady, "Lady, that shirt you're wearing is wrong. That should say Mrs. FORMER Champ."

"Well Lita, seeing as how I have morals I'd rather be known as Mrs. Former Champ than as the Current Champ's Tramp." That receives a huge reaction from John and the crowd. "Listen I have a huge announcement to make. You see this Sunday at Royal Rumble it won't just be our men that see action in the ring. I had a talk with Mr. McMahon and this Sunday it's gonna Lita's return to wrestling and my first pay-per-view match. And afterwards there's not gonna be any live sex celebration. But I really hope that when John and I are through with the two of you that you can uh tend to each other." she says confidently.


	33. Chapter 33

"I'm sorry I won't get to be there when you wrestle Lita." says Nate.

"Yeah. Sucks we won't get to spend your birthday together."

"Ya know I was thinking maybe..."

"Maybe what? We can break up so you can have a guilt free birthday celebration!" Lady snaps.

"Whoa! Where'd that come from?"

"I'm sorry. It's just that I know you have a history of breaking up with your girlfriend when going to another country so you can screw around."

"But I don't wanna do that to you. Lady I realize how special you are." He meant it. She was special...and that scared him. He pulls her close. "I wanna do right by you."

"The best way to do that is by doing right by yourself." she tells him.

"I'm trying."

_January 29, 2006 Royal Rumble_

"Hey." says John.

"Hey." Lady replies as she pecks away on her cell phone.

"What are you doing?"  
"Texting Nate a birthday message."

"Too bad he can't be here to see your match."

"Yeah. But at least Vince said you can be at ringside."

John sees a far-off look in her eyes. "You okay?"

"Yeah."  
"Are you okay with Nate being in Australia?" She nods unconvincingly. "Lady, do you trust the guy?"

She takes a moment to answer. "I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't. I spent a VERY long time telling Lorena and others that he can and WILL change. How can I not believe that now that we're together?"

He takes her hand. "Has he tried to pressure you sexually?"

"No! Not at all."

"Good. You know that if he ever hurts you I'll kick his ass. That is if you don't first." They laugh.

"Thank you...for being so supportive."

He smiles. "No problem. All I really want is for you to be happy."

"I want the same for you John."

Lady gives as good as she gets in the match. John cheers her on and closely watches Edge. Lita knocks Lady down on Edge's side of the ring. "Don't you dare touch her!" John demands. Edge backs away. Lita goes for her spike DDT but Lady, to everyone's shock, reverses it into a Twist of Fate for the pin.

"I can't believe you did that." John says.

"I surprised myself a bit. I'm gonna go clean up before your match."

"What is that?" she asks looking at the special ramp for their entrance.

"We're gonna have a special entrance tonight."

"No. It's...too high!"

"Lady it'll be okay."

"No Cena! It's...no! I can't go on that th..." She's cuts off by his lips. She momentarily gives in then pushes him away with gasp."

"Oh Beau...Lady, I'm sorry." His music starts. "Are you gonna be okay? I won't let anything happen to you." She nods and sure enough she makes it through the entrance just fine.

"My feet are killing me!" Lady exclaims as she falls back on the bed.

"I can fix that." John says as he begins massaging her feet. She nervously chews her lip and he can read her mind. Before he can respond there's a knock on the door. He answers to find Nate.

"Nate? Hey."

"I was told Lady was here." Nate says feeling a bit angry.

"She is."  
Lady appears at the door. "Nate! Hey!" She greets him with a hug and kiss. A kiss that she intended to be quick but Nate made a bit more passionate knowing John was watching. "What are you doing here?"

"The last show was cancelled. I'm sorry I couldn't make it in time to see your match. You win?"

"Yep."

"In a cruel twist of fate." John states.

"What?" asks Nate.

"It's a move Lita's done; I used it on her."

"That's my girl."

"Best part is that John's champ again."

"Congratulations."

"Thanks."

"Why are you two in the same room?"

"All booked up. It's two beds." Lady explains.

"Well I would hate to have to go to another hotel. Be okay if I crash here?"

"Sure." John agrees.

"Out of respect for Lady I guess us fellas can bunk together." Nate jokes, "As long as you don't get the wrong idea John."

Lady and John laugh. "No worries." he says.

John falls asleep as Lady and Nate lie on her bed and talk. He awakens a little while later to see them both asleep, Nate's arm around her. He steps out onto the balcony. "Are you okay?" Lady's voice comes from behind.

He looks at her. "How would you feel if you were in bed alone and looked over to see Nate holding another woman?"

"You wanna cry or throw up?"

He laughs. "A little of both."

"John I'm..."  
He places his finger to her lips. "Remember when you agreed to be my girl I promised you that you'd not regret giving me a chance?" She nods. "I don't like breaking my promises."  
"I don't regret giving you a chance, I just regret breaking your heart."

"I knew the risk and I was right, you were worth it. I'm gonna be fine. If we were meant to be you wouldn't have chosen Nate."

"Yeah. But I'm glad we can still be friends."

_February 6, 2006_

Nate waits as Lady prepares for her and John's mixed tag match against Lita and Edge. He watches a replay the events prompting the match. Edge takes out Hacksaw Jim Duggan. Lita slaps Maria around and then holds her as Edge prepares to spear her. John makes the save! As Edge and Lita back up the ramp, Lady attacks from behind with the WWE Championship belt. "This is ours! It's not yours!" she hisses at her foes.

Nate laughs.

"Hey. You ready?" Shawn asks Lady when he sees her come out of the women's locker room.

"Yeah! Looking forward to beating the heck outta LEdge."

"Good luck."

"Thanks. I'm gonna go find John."

He watches her walk down the hall and stop outside John's open door. Her eyes grow wide! He goes to see what she's looking at and sees John and Maria kissing. He takes her arm and gently pulls her away from the sight. "Are you alright?"

She takes a deep breath. "I'm fine. John needs to move on. It's great. Maria's a great girl. Now maybe if it were Candice I'd have to strangle him but..."

Shawn knows that she's lying to herself as much as she's lying to him. "Lady, you can admit that this bothers you in some way."

"It doesn't! I'm with Nate. I love Nate. I'm happy for John if he's happy."


	34. Chapter 34

Lady pushes the image of John and Maria out of her mind to focus on the match. Edge beats down on John. Lady reaches out and blind tags herself in as Edge tosses John to the outside. He's stunned when she catches him off-guard with a hurricanrana off the top rope. Lita enters and she and Lady battle it out until Edge reenters the ring. Lady sidesteps a spear and he nails Lita. John tosses Edge out of the ring as Lady covers Lita for the win.

Lady and Nate are on their way out of the arena when she says "I forgot something. Wait for me in the car?"

"Sure."

She knocks on John's door. "It's open."

"Hey."

"Hey, thought you were heading out."

"I was but..." She takes a deep breath. "John I saw you and Maria."

For a moment he actually hopes she's jealous but scolds himself for the thought. He really did want her to be happy with Nate. "It... She was thankful that I helped her out and worried about our match. She was rambling so I kissed her to shut her up." he laughs softly.

"You're good at that." Lady says with a slight smile. "She's a great girl. If you wanna start something with her." She nearly gags on her words.

"If something's meant to happen it will." he insists. "Nate waiting for you?"

"Yeah. He's in the car."  
"Well don't keep him waiting. I'll see you next Monday."

"Yeah. Be careful on your trip in India."

"I will."

For the next week, Lady enjoys her time with Nate. He goes with her and supports her as she trains. Periodically the image of John and Maria flooded her mind. "Are you okay?" Nate asks when she suddenly grows pale.

"Yeah. I'm fine." She kisses him. "I really love you."

"I love you too."

_February 13, 2006_

Shawn and Nate watch the Divas Battle Royal. Lady and Maria team up to take out Victoria. The men laugh when Lady turns on Maria and tosses her through the ropes. In a way the sight doesn't surprise Shawn. Lady makes her way to the back after being eliminated by Candice. "Sorry." Nate says hugging her. "You did great though."

"Thanks. I'm gonna get ready for John's match."

"What?" she asks Shawn as he walks with her.

"That little turn on Maria personal?"

"You've been battle royals. You know better than anybody that it's every man or in this case woman for herself."

"True. But are you sure there's not just a little part of you..."  
"Stop! I love Nate! You know what? _He _knows that so I don't have to prove it to anyone else."

"Okay. You're right. As long as you're happy."

"I am!" she snaps before entering the women's locker room. She calms down and goes over to Maria. "You know it wasn't personal right?"

"Huh?"  
"My taking you out."

"Why would I think it was personal? Oh! You saw John and I kiss?"

"Yeah. But it's fine. I can vouch that he's a great guy. And I want him to be happy."

"Then you should get back with you." states Maria.

"I'm very happy with Nate."

"Then how come you don't look at him the way you do John?" Lady is silent. "And I'm supposed to be the ditzy Diva. It was a nice kiss but John's _not _ready to move on. He still loves you."

Guest referee Mick Foley catches Lita removing the turnbuckle pad and ejects her from ringside. Lady and John wave her goodbye as Edge freaks out. Edge knocks Foley to the outside. Lady checks on him as John locks Edge in the STFU. Lita attacks him. He corners her as Lady gets on the apron to get at Lita. Lita moves as Edge attacks John from behind. He slams into Lady knocking her to the floor on her back. John flips out! Edge improvises and tosses John to the outside to check on her. "Are you okay?"

"Ow!" She groans slowly sitting up. "Yeah I think I might be sore later but I'm usually sore."

"Just stay out of the way." he says before turning his attention back to the match.

"Are you okay?!" Nate asks her when they get backstage. He glares at John. "How could you do that to her?!"

"Nate it wasn't his fault! It was an accident, they happen. I'm fine!"

"We're gonna make sure though. Let's go to the trainer now." John insists.

"Wow isn't this a role reversal. Usually I'm making you go get checked out." He laughs.

_Valentine's Day_

Nate has a nice dinner prepared for Lady and himself at his beachfront, Tampa home. "Nate this is wonderful. Thank you so much."

"It was no trouble." His heart races! "Look Lady, I usually buy girls a bunch of gifts...And I know that John got you that jewelry..."

"Hey. I don't need any material gifts okay." she tries to assure him.

He smiles. "I wanna give you something that I've never _really _been able to give anyone before." He takes her hand and places it to his chest. "My heart."

"That's all I need. " she breathes.

He pulls her to a standing position and picks up the remote to his stereo. KISS's "Forever" begins playing as he pulls her into his arms and begins dancing. "So many times I've taken advantage of girls with kind hearts but lower standards. The fact that you can't be moved in your convictions is incredible. Others have used me; even people that I thought had no reason to use me. But I trust you. Even after this short time. I know you wouldn't use me. Lady I have _so _much love and respect for you I could never express it." She practically melts in his arms. She opens her mouth to speak when her phone rings. "Sorry." She picks up the phone and is shocked by the number she sees.

A/N: Last chapter for now. I'm working on the next and will try to have it out soon.


	35. Chapter 35

Lady goes to another room and answers the phone. "Hello?"

"Lady, it's your ole pal Jericho."

"Yeah I was shocked to see your number on my Caller ID. How are you?"

"I'm fine but... Little Lady why the hell is Cena in a bar, drunk off his ass and not with you on Valentine's Day?"

Lady is stunned by the information. _I thought he was handling things okay. _"Chris...I'm with Nate now."

Chris is silent at first. "Well no wonder then." he replies with a sigh, "Lady, I think you should come down here. I've seen the man ripped before, but this is beyond what I've ever seen."

She chews her lip. "I don't know Chris. The last time John was drunk he...got a little carried away with me."

Chris was taken aback but still had a feeling about John's current situation. "Lady, I'll be right here the whole time. He _needs _you right now."

She sighs. "Okay. Gimme directions."

"What's wrong?" Nate asks when she comes back to the living room.

_How am I supposed to explain this? _"I...have a friend that's having a really rough Valentine's day." _Well that's not a lie. _"This evening has been great but I think I need to..."  
"Go see your friend." he finishes her statement. "I understand. Go on, I'll see your tomorrow." He kisses her goodbye then she drives to the bar.

"Hey." Lady hugs Chris when she sees him. "Where is he?"

"Come on." He takes her to a booth in the back of the bar. She sees John sitting with a bottle of Southern Comfort and a shot glass.

He looks up. "What are you doing here?"

She turns to Chris. "Could you leave us alone?"

"I'll be right over there."

She sits next to John as Chris walks away. "Chris called me."  
"Oh I'm sorry he ruined your lovely time with Nate." John remarks sarcastically as he downs a shot.

"John what are you doing?" Lady asks in a mixture of anger and sadness.

"I'm just sitting here drowning my sorrows while the woman I love has a romantic evening with her bastard of a boyfriend."

The name-calling angers her. "Nate's not a bastard."

John chuckles. "What else you call it when a guy doesn't believe his Christian girlfriend when she says she's saving herself for marriage?"

"You're drunk. You don't know what you're saying." she insists.

He looks into her eyes. "I know _exactly _what I'm talking about. He...he insinuated that the reason I gave you the ring and bracelet were cause of how good you are in bed." She doesn't believe him. She doesn't _want _to believe him. John strokes her face. "Beautiful, tell me the truth. Has he ever pressured you?"

"No."

"Then he must be getting it somewhere. I just I don't trust him. He's a jerk." He downs another shot.

"Well if you hate him so much why didn't you fight to keep me?!" she hisses, surprising herself.

"Why should I fight for you when you weren't even fighting to stay with me? Besides, it's your one true love and soulmate...Nate. How could I contend with that?" He turns his attention back to his glass and twirls it. "I should've fought anyway."

Lady stares at him and fights off tears. She touches his arm. "You don't trust Nate, but do you trust me?"

He looks at her and answers without hesitation, "With my life."

"Then please trust that I can handle myself where Nate is concerned. And please Cena, don't do this to yourself." She pushes the bottle away from him. "Let me take you home so you can sleep this off."

John's heart aches at the concern in her voice and nods. "Let's go." he says softly.

Lady helps him stand and he stumbles. Chris quickly appears to help John regain his balance. "Whoa, steady big guy." He helps Lady get John to the car. "You sure you can handle it from here? he asks her.

"Yeah. Thanks for calling me."

"No problem. Be careful." he advises.

"Bye."

The drive starts off in silence. She gasps when John strokes her face causing her to flash back to New Year's Eve. "Please don't be afraid of me, Beautiful." he says with hurt in his voice. "I swear I will never let anything like that happen again. I love you so much."

She was angry with him for turning to alcohol to get away from his troubles, yet she did believe his words. "I know." she assures.

She unlocks his front door. "You think you can make it upstairs?"

He shakes his head. "Couch." She steers him into the living room and he collapses, facedown on the couch. She removes his sneakers and covers him with a blanket as he rolls onto his back. His beautiful, blue eyes lock on hers. "I hope Nate realizes how lucky he is."

It broke her heart knowing that she was the cause of his pain. "Just get some rest." she says, tucking him in.

Nate answers the door. "Lady!" He is surprised to see her. "I didn't think you'd be back tonight." He tries to kiss her but she pulls away.

"We need to talk."

"What's wrong?" he inquires

"Nate...the friend I went to see was...John."

He becomes angry. "You left our romantic evening to go see your ex-boyfriend?!"

"He was drunk. Another friend of ours was worried about him and called me. He said some things." She stares him in the eyes. "Did you or did you not insinuate that you don't believe I'm a virgin?"

He hangs his head and sighs. "I'm sorry. You know that most of the people in my life have lied to me and hurt me in some way. So when I said those things to John, part of it was a genuine fear of letting myself trust you. And another part was, I'm ashamed to say, wanting to piss John off." He pulls her close. "I _do _trust you. And I am _so _thankful for your love and your values."

She kisses him. "I believe you."


	36. Chapter 36

John slowly opens his eyes in the bright sunlight. He looks around and realizes he's in his home, but how did he get there? He closes his eyes and rubs his face as an image comes into his mind. _Lady! _He sits straight up at the memory. "Ow!" He grabs his throbbing head. "You're a dumb ass Cena." He grabs an energy drink to revive himself and soothe his empty stomach. He struggles to recall the events of the previous evening. The conversation about Nate comes back to him. "Maybe I got through to her. I really don't trust that guy not to hurt her."

Once he recovers from his hangover he heads to the gym. His workout takes his mind off his Lady troubles until he hears familiar voices coming from the door. He sits the weights down and turns to see Lady and Nate at the front desk. "Great." he murmurs.

Lady sees John and starts to tense. "Come here." she tells Nate. Nate follows her and sighs when he realizes they are walking toward John. "Hey." Lady greets John.

"Hey." he replies.

"Let's all go outside and talk." The men follow her to the parking lot.

"I'm guessing you're how I got home last night." John says.

Lady replies with a nod. Nate starts to become irritated. Lady looks at him. "Look you two... I'm not asking that you become best friends, but...I can't handle this tension." She rubs the back of her neck as it becomes tighter and winces at a sudden pain in the back of her head. She looks into John's eyes. "I talked to Nate, he admitted to the things you said. He's sorry and I trust him. You need to accept that." She turns to Nate. "John is a great friend and we work together. I love my job in the WWE. I want to be able to enjoy it. I need your support."

Nate hears the pleading in her voice. "You got it." He hugs her.

"I gotta get outta here." John proclaims. "My workout's done." He heads for his jeep.

"Wait!" Lady calls. "Nate, will you wait for me inside?" He really doesn't want to leave her alone with John more than he has to but agrees. She walks up to John. "Why did you lie to me?"

"What?"

"You kept telling me you were fine with me being with Nate."

"What was I supposed to do, beg you to stay with me? I've got my pride."

"Does your pride call for you to torment yourself by pretending to be my husband? If we talked to Vince maybe he would change the storyline."

"Work _is _work. It's when we're not working that I get some twinges of..." He sighs! "You're a smart woman. I'm gonna trust that you know what you're doing." He steps toward her. "We're friends and co-workers. I really am okay with that."

She smiles. "I _know _you're telling me the truth now."

"Really?" he asks smirking.

"You looked me directly in the eyes. You didn't do that before. Take care of yourself, I'll see you this weekend."

"See ya."

_Thursday on flight to New Brunswick_

Lady fidgets and groans. "Your neck still bothering you?" Nate asks.

"Yeah. This attack's getting rough, but I'll get through it." Or so she thought at the moment. Several times John had ask her how she was doing. She insisted she was going to be fine. She made it through their respective matches then headed start for the airport to catch a Red Eye flight to Nova Scotia. She attempts to sleep on the plane but to no avail.

Around 1AM she enters her hotel room. "Call me if you need me." Nate says before heading to his own room. Lady doesn't get much sleep. She wakes every hour staring at the clock waiting for the next time to take more medicine. "Why bother taking it, it's not working?" she murmurs as she forces herself to breathe through the pain.

Meanwhile, John too finds himself inexplicably waking every hour. "What the hell's going on? Whatever, at least I'm getting some sleep." Around 8AM he makes a trip to the gym.

Nate knocks on Lady's door. She doesn't answer but he can hear her sobbing. He remembers he accidentally stuck her keycard in his pocket. Frantic, he opens the door to see her rocking on the floor beside the bed. He reaches out and touches her left shoulder. "Lady..."

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" she screams and recoils in pain. "Oh God please make it stop!" she prays, holding her head tightly with both hands. The back of her head was throbbing and her shoulders and neck felt like tangled knots.

"Lady, I...I don't know wha...Shawn!" He was her best friend and emergency contact while traveling; of course he'd know what to do Nate thought. "Hold on, I'll be right back." He dashes out the door.

John enters the elevator and pushes 8 to head up to his room. He hears a woman's sobs and senses they are Lady's. "What...?" He's alone in the elevator so there's no way he could have actually heard anything. He punches the button for fifth floor to go check on her.

Lady continues to pray, cry and rock. "Lady." She looks up to see John. "John..." She crawls to him as he crouches down. "John...help me." She wraps herself around him. "Make it stop!."

"Come on." He lays her on the bed as Shawn and Nate enter the room. They both look at John questioningly. Shawn goes to Lady. He gently touches her back. "No." She squirms away. "When's the last time you took your meds?"

"About 4."

"I'm gonna get Doc Rios."

John feels Nate's eyes burning holes in him but continues to focus on Lady, stroking her hair. Nate doesn't understand why she isn't freaking out over the motion.

"Lady, I'm going to give you a shot that will hopefully make you feel all better." says Dr. Rios.

She starts to feel sleepy but still winces in pain. "I'm gonna stay with her." Nate insists and lies next to her.

"Nate..." John says. Nate looks at him. John takes Nate's hand and places it just behind Lady's left ear. "Just apply a tiny bit of pressure." Nate does and immediately she relaxes as the pain eases.

"Thanks." Nate replies softly.

John doesn't respond and just exits the room. "So what were you doing in there?" Shawn asks.

"I just had a feeling she needed me." John claims.

Shawn pats him on the back. "You were right."


	37. Chapter 37

A/N: I am not completely happy with this chapter so feedback is GREATLY appreciate. Thanks for all the reviews so far. I am trying to skip ahead and get the story rolling since I and others feel it's been dragging for so long. Hope you continue to enjoy.

Nate and Lady arrive at the arena. "I'm so glad you're feeling better. I felt so helpless." he says pulling her into his arms.

"I'm sorry I worried you." She spots John. "Excuse me."

Nate watches her walk away. What was with her and John's connection? "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Lady." he sighs.

"Hey." Lady says.

"Hey! Great to see you moving around and not crying! You feeling good?"

"Mmmhmm. Still kinda tired but MUCH better. Thank you."

John smiles. "No problem. I...I knew you needed me so... I'm just glad I could help."

"Hey." Nate interrupts, putting his arm around Lady. He looks at John. "Thanks for that little tip."

"Yeah sure." replies John.

"I've gotta get ready. I don't have to wrestle tonight but gotta referee Trish and Mickie. So see you fellas in a bit." She walks away.

"Could I talk to you for a minute?" Nate asks John.

Surprised, John reluctantly replies, "Sure."

"How do you do it?" Nate inquires.

"Do what?"

"Take care of her." John narrows his eyes. "You were so calm this morning in dealing with her."

"Oh. Trust me I wasn't the first time I ever saw her have a spell. I didn't know what was going on." He recalls the incident and smiles at the thought of Lady kissing him for the first time."

"John?" Nate says snapping John back to the present.

"Huh?"

"So you got anymore tips like the one you gave me to help her headache?"

John sighs. "Just...neck and back massages. _Don't _touch her if she says not to. Um...oh and do NOT keep her from doing something when she feels up to it. She needs to feel independent." He goes quiet for a moment then softly says, "Here's a biggie. Comfort her during a depressed spell."

Nate nearly panics! "De...depressed spell?"  
"Yeah. They come on sometimes. Just listen to her say whatever she needs to and reassure her that everything will get better and that you..." John nearly chokes on his words, "That you love her."

Nate nods. "I think I can do all that. Thanks."

"Uh...yeah. Okay I gotta go..." _Bash my head against a wall. _"Uh do something...See ya!" He dashes inside the locker room. He lightly bangs his head against his locker and lets out a muffled scream.

Shawn puts a hand on John's shoulder. "Hey, what's the matter?"

John looks at him. "What's wrong with me? I just gave advice to the boyfriend of the woman that I love on how to take care of her. Why would I do that?"

Shawn smiles and chuckles. "I think you just answered your own question. You did _because _you love her."

_One month later_

Lady and Nate are sitting in a park in San Antonio. The same park Lady and John visited after they first got together. "Your mom wishes you were still with John doesn't she?"

Lady is taken aback by the question. "I don't really see how she can prefer one or the other of you as my boyfriend. John and I weren't together that long."

"Everyone wants you back with him!" Nate insists.

"That's not true. Even if it was, I want you!" Lady assures.

Nate hangs his head. "I'm just afraid Lady." he says softly. He looks into her eyes. "No one's ever loved me like you do. _No one! _Not my mother, not my ex-girlfriends! I don't wanna lose you."

She sighs and runs her hands through her hair. "Nate I waited for you for a long time, I'm not giving up now."

"What are you talking about? What do you mean you waited for me for a long time?"

_Oh boy! How do I explain this?.. It's best to just say it. _She takes his hand. "Nate, I...I fell in love with you a long time ago. Not the crazy "Oh my gosh he's so hot!" love but _really _in love. I know it sounds crazy but it's true. Ask Lorena! She didn't get it, but she knew it was real."

"If you loved me for all this time what were you doing with John?"

Her heart skips at the question. "I didn't think you and I could ever be. I was trying to move on."

"Do you love him?"

"Nate..."

"Do you?!"

"What do you want me to say?"!  
"I want you to answer me! Do you love John?!"

"Of course I do!"


	38. Chapter 38

A/N: I don't know or own anyone associated with WWE, their families or any other celebs. Thanks for the feedback.

Nate gets up off the bench. "Of course you do." he mutters.

Lady stands. "Nate, listen to me. John is a great friend. And the fact that he was my first boyfriend is a little special. But I love _you_. I have chosen to be with _you_." She turns his face toward her. "Believe that."

He places his hands over hers and smiles. Then he pulls her into a passionate kiss. "I just need your love." he insists.

"Well you have it. Don't worry."

"I hate that I'm gonna be in L.A. for a couple weeks, away from you." he tells her.

"At least you'll be in Chicago for WrestleMania. It's gonna be awesome!"

_Monday Night Raw_

John enters the locker room to find Lady on her phone. "Nate, I love you. Alright? I'll see you in Chicago, and we'll talk later tonight. Bye." She closes her phone and groans.

"Something wrong?" John asks.

She looks up. "I don't get it."

"Get what?" He sits next to her.

"I'm a virgin who's only had one boyfriend. Nate has had many girlfriends and...too many flings to count. How is it that _he's _the jealous one?"

John chuckles. "Well in all fairness to Nate...he doesn't spend four days a week with any of his exes or former flings."

"Good point." She sits silently for a moment then looks into his eyes. "I really did never understand keeping an ex close but...I'm glad I have you in my life."

He smiles. "I'm glad I have you in my life too."

After Raw Lady calls Nate. "Hey you sound upset." he says.

"I am. Edge just attacked John...again! And their Mania match has been made a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match. That's Edge's specialty! John's never had one before!"

_John...John...JOHN! Why can't you just focus on us for a few minutes? _He takes a deep breath to settle his rapid heartbeat. "I'm sure he can pull it off. So how about your match?"  
"I beat Mickie when she let Trish distract her." she laughs.

Nate laughs. "Well as long as you won. I'll check it out when it comes on here."

Nate greatly enjoys watching Lady's match. He sees how hard she trains and loves what she's doing. "Oooh! Oww!" he declares as she plants Mickie with a DDT.

He watches Lady cling to John before his match against Masters. The sight makes his blood boil. He feels nauseous as the pair kiss before Lady exits the ring. He closes his eyes. "She loves me. She loves me." he assures himself.

Suddenly Edge appears and nails John with a chair. He then pulls a ladder out from under the ring and attacks John with it as Lady is frozen in horror. Next he sets a table up in the corner and as John stands Edge spears him through the table. Lady hits the ring and throws herself atop of John as Edge approaches him. "Stop! You've done enough!" She leans over John and caresses his face and head. "It's gonna be okay." Nate can't hear her say it but reads her lips. Her eyes say even more. "You're supposed to look at _me _that way." he seethes through gritted teeth.

Nate is happy the rest of the week when talking to Lady. She makes no mentions of John until Sunday. "John and I are in a mixed tag match against Candice and Randy tomorrow night. Despite Randy's in-ring attitude, he's a great guy. I'm glad he's back on Raw. But Candice, grr! I'm looking forward to kicking her butt again."

Nate laughs. "I look forward to seeing it."

"I kinda wish it was one-on-one though. Edge doesn't have a match so he can rest. I think John should get a chance to rest."

_I wish you'd stop caring so much. _"He's a tough guy. I'm sure he'll be fine." he states. "I miss you so much."

"I miss you too."

"Really?"

"Yes!"

"You sure you..."

"What?"

"Nothing." He knows his jealousy of John only causes fights and wants to avoid one.

Nate watches the match Monday night and is once again highly impressed with Lady's skills. He laughs when at one point Candice tags in Randy and Lady stares him down instead of exits the ring. He again feels sick when seeing her fawn over John. They win the match and celebrate with hugging, a kiss and John hoisting Lady in the air. "Dammit, she's _mine_!"

_April 2, 2006 WrestleMania 22 in Chicago_

"Hey!" Lady greets Nate with a big hug and kiss. "I missed you."

John aches at the sight but feels joy over the smile on her face.

"Well I'm here now." Nate says, glaring at John. _I'm not letting her go._

"Hey Nate."

"John. Good luck with the match tonight."  
"Thanks."

The match is brutal! John and Edge put each other through hell. At one point they end up outside and John takes Edge down and tosses a ladder on top of him. Lady stands on the ladder to add more weight and tells John to climb the one in the ring. He does and nearly gets a hold of the belt when Lita rushes the ring and knocks the ladder over, sending John crashing. Momentarily Lady glares at Lita but decides to check on John rather than attack Lita. Nate clenches his fists as his pulse begins to race. After Lady takes out Lita, John FUs Edge off a 16-foot ladder through two tables. He removes the belt from the clip as Lady climbs the ladder and kisses him. _What the hell? _Nate thinks.

Lady virtually ignores Nate once backstage. "Are you okay?" she asks John. "Why aren't you happy?"

"Edge's neck. I hated having to do that. I hope he's okay."

"I'll be right back." She dashes out of the room.  
"Where are you going?" Nate inquires.

She turns. "I'm gonna check on Edge, I'll be back." She sees John's father heading toward John's locker room and smiles. "He really needs you right now."

Nate shakes his head at the exchange. _I'm getting so sick of this._


	39. Chapter 39

A/N: Thanks to my friend CJ who reviewed this chapter for me while I was writing it.

"Nate what's wrong?" Lady asks as they walk toward the arena from their car. "You've seemed distance ever since last night."

"I'm distant? You're the one running away from me to check on Edge." Nate snaps.

"What? Did you watch the match? It was rough. He and John went through a lot."

"Yeah, but the reason you checked on him was because of John. _John _was worried about him. _John _was not gonna relax unless he knew Edge was alright. And you just _had _to let Daddy know that his little boy needed him."

"So John and his dad are close. I'm sorry you can't say the same thing about you and your dad."

"This isn't about me and my dad. This is about you!" He walks toward her with a look of intensity. She backs against the building and stares up at him, intimidated. "What was with climbing the ladder and kissing him?" he asks in a low voice.

Lady flashes back to the moment. Why did she do that? She had no answer. "I..."

"Everything okay here?" comes Shawn's voice from behind Nate.

Nate becomes suddenly calm and moves away from Lady. "Yeah fine." he heads inside.

Shawn looks at a shaken Lady. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Of course she wasn't! She was frightened by Nate and confused by her actions toward John.

"What did Nate do?" Shawn asks, concerned for his friend.

"It's nothing. I can handle it." she tells him.

"Lady, is Nate getting abusive?"

"No! We were just... He's insecure over Cena. And maybe he has a reason to be."

"That kiss last night wasn't just for show was it?"

She sighs. "I didn't even think about it. I was just so happy for him and so relieved he came out okay."

Shawn places his hands on her shoulders and leans closer to her. "Lady, you need to work out your feelings before you end up hurting both of them."

Just then John walks toward them. "Hey."

"Hi." Shawn and Lady reply.  
John looks at Lady. "I'm glad you get another shot at Lita tonight. Thanks for making sure Edge's neck was alright after that FU. I really hated having to go that route."

"It's was no problem." Even though it was causing a problem with Nate.

Nate waits with Lady prior to her match. "He going out there with you?"

"Yeah."

"I get that you are...husband and wife, but I wish you didn't have to work so closely."

Lady finally snaps! "Nate, if you are so convinced that John's the man I want why do you want to be with me?! At least he had to nerve to tell me he wouldn't settle for being second choice!"

She was comparing him to John now. Why didn't she just slap him in the face? He chokes back tears. "I've told you, no one has loved me like you do. I _know _you love me. I just wish you didn't love him."

She groans. "I wish you'd just grow a spine and stop being pathetic!" she shouts.

Now _that _was worse than a slap in the face. Visibly hurt he turns from her. Immediately she regrets what has transpired. "Nate I'm sorry." she insists with a soft voice.

"Leave me alone." he whispers.

"Nate, please..." She touches his shoulder.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" He shoves her, causing her to stumble into a table. _Oh no! What did I do? _He moves toward it but finds himself slammed against the wall. "Don't you EVER put your hands on her! Do you understand me?!" says an enraged John.

"John..." Lady tries to calm him. "Come on, Cena let him go. He didn't mean it." She grabs John's arm. "Look at me! I'm alright. He didn't hurt me. It was a misunderstanding." John looks into her eyes and begins to calm down. He turns Nate loose and pulls Lady close to him. "We gotta get ready for your match."

They head toward the gorilla position. "That guy messes everything up." Nate thinks aloud.

He heads off to find a monitor to watch the match. As he turns the corner he bumps into Stephanie McMahon; who drops some papers. "I'm sorry." He leans down to pick up the papers. He notices one reads, "Scheduled drug testing for April 6th- John Cena." "Here you go."

"It's alright. Thank you." Steph says.

Nate chuckles. "Yeah that could do it."


	40. Chapter 40

A/N: I had planned on ending this chapter at a different place but was getting too wordy. I really like this ending and it kinda surprised me lol. I'll try to get on the next chapter soon.

John and Lady head backstage after her match. He stops and moves in front of her. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just usual after effects of a match." she says.

"I'm not talking about the match." he insists. He stares at her, the image of Nate shoving her playing in his head. He leans down closer to her. "I can't let you go back to him, Beautiful. I don't want to see you get hurt."

Her heart leaps at the sound of his nickname for her and a smile creeps across her face. "You haven't called me that in a long time. I'll be fine, Cena. It was a misunderstanding. Nate's not gonna hurt me."

"Lady, I saw him push you."

"He didn't hurt me!" she insists. "I know you don't trust him, but you said you trust me. So trust that I won't let a man abuse me."

John becomes frustrated with her stubbornness, yet he does trust her. He takes a deep breath. "Fine! But he better not touch you like that again!" He pulls her into his arms. "If he does he'll have to answer to me."

Nate watches the exchange from a distance. "You can't have her back. I won't let you!"

_At the hotel_

"Thanks for carrying my bags for me." Lady tells Nate.

"My pleasure. Lady I am _so _sorry for what happened earlier." He truly meant it; he couldn't believe his actions!

"I know you are. Let's just move on. I'm gonna go call my mom, I'll be back in a minute." As she starts to leave the room she turns back. "Oh would you get my medicine out for me? It's in the blue bag."

"Sure!" _This may be easier than I thought. _He removes the two prescription bottles from the bag. Then he pours five tablets from one of the bottles into his hand and wraps them in a tissue. "This should do the trick." he says with a smirk. _I am __not __gonna lose you Lady. I don't care what it takes._

_April 6_

Lady and Nate share breakfast at a local restaurant. "I'm glad we got a little bit of time before you have to go to the airport and I have to go to the autograph signing." Lady says.  
"Yeah me too. You sure John's not coming here and is just gonna meet you at the mall?"  
"Yeah, he's at the gym. I'm gonna grab some breakfast for him."

"Sucks I'm not gonna see you all weekend." Nate says with a pout.  
Lady smiles. "You know I'll miss you."

After they finish eating Lady places an order for John. She starts fidgeting with her make up mirror while they wait. "Hey, I'll grab the food while you go to the ladies' room and freshen up." Nate insists.

"Oh, okay. Thank you." She kisses him before dashing off. Once he gets the food Nate takes it back to their table. He looks around to make sure no one's watching. He pulls a small plastic bag from his pocket. He had ground up the pills he took from Lady. He removes the lid, empties the bag into the drink and stirs it. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Lady heading toward him and hurriedly replaces the lid.

John sips on his coffee as they greet the fans. Lady sees him wince. "You okay?"

"The coffee tastes kinda gritty toward the bottom."

"Oh, I think they had powdered creamer. Maybe they didn't stir it well."

"Yeah that's probably it." he replies taking another sip.

A half-hour later the session is over and they prepare to leave. As they stand John staggers. "Whoa!" he exclaims gripping the back of his chair for support.

Lady becomes worried at the sight of his suddenly pale face. "What's wrong?!"

"I...um I'm dizzy all of a sudden."  
"Sit back down." Lady insists. He does as she says as she checks his forehead. "You're a little warm. Maybe you're coming down with something."

"Yeah my head's been kinda stuffy for a couple days. I can deal with anything except for this dizziness." he states as he closes his eyes.

"Hopefully it'll go away. Let's get to the arena and Dr. Rios can check you out. Give me the car keys."

"You feel any better?" Lady asks after parking the car.

John sighs. "I'm not dizzy anymore but I'm so tired."

"Well you can rest until your match." John snickers. "Yes Cena! _You _rest!"

"Yes ma'am."

"What'd the doctor say?" she asks has he comes from being examined.

"I probably picked up a bug. Just..." He rolls his eyes then looks into hers. "Like you said 'rest'."

She laughs. "Well I'm holding you to that. I'm gonna go out for my match, you stay back here."

He groans, "Alright." She heads toward the gorilla position as he heads toward the locker room.

"Cena, just the man I was looking for." John turns to see Shane McMahon.

"Hey Shane, what's up?"

"Your day for drug testing."

"Fine by me, I got nothing to hide."

Lady goes to check on John after her match. He's lying on a bench, arms folded across his forehead. "You feeling any better?"

He sits up and grows pale. He dashes into a bathroom stall and retches. Lady shutters at the sound. "I'm gonna take that as a no."

As they stand in the gorilla position Lady feels uneasy. "Are you sure you can do this?"

His music hits and he smirks at her. "You know me..."

"Yeah yeah I know "never back down, never quit." _I just want you to be okay._

During the match the dizziness comes back along with weakness. The referee notices and insists on wrapping up the match. Quickly John locks Edge in the STFU and Edge taps out.

Lady drives to the hotel. She opens John's car door for him. As he gets out he stumbles into her, pinning her between him and the side of the car. "Whoa. Okay I think we need some help here."  
"I'm sorry Beautiful. You alright?" He moves enough to let her slide out of the way then leans on the car for support.

"Yeah I'm fine. Just worried about you." She sees Randy across the parking lot. "Randy!"  
He approaches them. "What's up?"

"He needs help getting to his room."

"You not feeling any better man?"

"Nope. I don't what this bug is but I hope it's just a 24-hour deal." John proclaims.

Randy and Lady help John into his room. John staggers over to the bed and lies down. "You gonna be alright?" Randy asks John.

"I hope so." John replies.

"He'll be okay. I'll stay till he falls asleep." Lady declares. The men look at her curiously. "What?"

"I'm too sick to protest." claims John.  
"I'm not gonna try to fight her." Randy laughs.  
Lady laughs. "Good. Then go. I'll take care of him."  
"Alright I'm gone. Get better man." Randy tells John.

Lady lounges next to John and strokes his hair. He looks into her eyes. "Thank you." he says.

"For what?"

"Being you...all motherly and stuff." He flashed that dimpled smile making her heart skip.

"You're welcome. Now go to sleep." She kisses his forehead as he closes his eyes. He instinctively snuggles against her as he drifts off to sleep. She relaxes in the feeling of his arms and too falls asleep.


	41. Chapter 41

A/N: Thanks again to my friend CJ for her help.

The next morning John awakens slowly. He looks down to see Lady nestled in his arms, head resting on his chest. A smile spreads across his face and he chuckles softly. He gently strokes her silky hair. She begins to stir and looks up into his eyes. "Good morning Beautiful."

Dazed she sits up and looks around the room. "Oh um...I did _not _mean to fall asleep here last night."

"It's alright." he insists. He sits up and rubs his face.

"Are you feeling better?" she asks.

He sighs. "Yeah. I think so."

"I'm glad. Okay since I have already paid for a room I'm gonna go use it for a few hours before we have to leave." She gets off the bed.  
"Alright I'll see you in a bit. Lady?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for taking care of me."

She smiles. "You're welcome." She walks into the hallway feeling bewildered. _I can't believe I fell asleep in there. _She walks down the hall and enters her room in time to hear the phone ringing. "Hello?"

She hears a frantic Nate on the line, "Lady! Thank God! I've been trying to call you all night and this morning. I tried your cell and this line both. Where have you been? Are you okay?"

"Nate...hey. Uh yeah I'm fine. Just turned my cell off and I guess I forgot to turn it back on."

"Why didn't you answer this phone? I started freaking out when I couldn't get you on your cell and tried this line."

"I...was with some friends."

"John?"

She's silent for a moment. "No! The girls...some of us just hung out in another room for girls' night. Fell asleep, I just got into my room."

It's Nate's turn to grow silent. _I want to trust her. _He sighs. "I'm just glad you're okay. I can't wait to see you Monday."

"I can't wait to see you either." However at the moment she was too shocked to see anyone. Not Nate, not John, only...

_At the arena_

Shawn sits in a chair reading. Lady walks up behind him and lays her head on his shoulder. "Help me." she whimpers.

He looks up as she moves in front of him. "What's up little sister?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." she says pouting.

He takes her hand. "Sit down. What happened?"

She sits in the chair next to him. "You know how John was sick yesterday?"

"Yep."

"Well I got him to the hotel and Randy helped me get him to his room...I fell asleep."

"And?"

"I'm not sure it was an accident." She pauses. "Especially after I lied to Nate about it."

"What did you do?"

"I made up a story about hanging out with the girls. He even asked if I was with John."

"Lady, how do you really feel about Nate? Not how did you feel about him, I know all that...but how do you feel about him _now_?"

"You remember how I thought I had this connection to him?" Shawn nods. "I talked to him about those events and he admitted to me that I was right about everything. He's also shared things with me things that he swears no one else knows. He's been hurt by so many people and I just feel so bad..."  
"Stop right there!" Shawn looks her in the eyes and says, "You don't love him, you pity him. And there is no pity in love."

Lady stares at him in shock trying to absorb his comment. She holds her head in her hands and sighs.

"How do you feel about John?"

She begins to choke up. "Honestly? He knows things about me that _you _don't."

"So what does that tell you?"

Tears escape her eyes. "I do love him."

"Then tell him and let Nate go. For both of your sakes."

Between meeting Make-a-Wish kids and doing interviews Lady never gets a chance to talk to John during the day. Because she has a match of her own she tries to relax come showtime. John senses some tension in her. "You alright?"

"We need to talk later." she says just before her music begins.

After Lady and Lita recoup from their match they head to ringside with their men. At one point, Edge has John sitting on the top turnbuckle. Edge attempts the superplex--but, his foot slips, causing them both to come tumbling down. John almost landing on his head. Lady is frightened and prays for him to be alright. He recovers fine and the match finishes. As they head backstage he sees Lady is shaking. "Hey what's wrong?"

"When Edge dropped you like that." Her voice quivers. "I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you."

John kisses her forehead and pulls her close. "I'm alright. Don't cry."

"I can't help it." she says clinging to him.

He holds her as his mind spins. _Is this what I think it is? _Their hearts begin to race as they look into each other's eyes. Lady places her hand on the back of his head and pulls him down for a magnificent kiss. They finally part and John whispers, "What are we gonna do Beautiful? We can't deny this."

"I _have _to end things with Nate. But I can't do it over the phone."

"You're right it should be in person. I've waited this long I can wait a few more days for you."

Lady and John try to avoid each other as much as possible. However two days later after a show..."Hey." Lady says as she approaches John's rental car.

"Hey."

"Can I hitch a ride?"

He laughs. "Of course. But why aren't you going with Shawn?"

"He wanted to head back home tonight to see Rebecca and kids. I thought about it but I called my mom and she said just to head on to Houston, save myself a trip."

"Hop in." As he fastens his seatbelt he notices she's staring at him. "What?"

"Do you wanna kiss me as badly as I wanna kiss you?"

"Maybe more."

She hesitates for a moment then leans toward him. As their lips are about to meet her phone rings. She looks to see who's calling. "Perfect timing." She answers, "Hey you."

"Hey. What's up?" Nate asks, glad to hear her voice.

"I'm getting ready to leave the arena. John and I are heading on to Houston tonight."

"John?!" Nate is surprised. "He's still..."

"He's still what?" she replies. John looks at her curiously.  
_How come he's not suspended? _"Nothing... Um well I'll be flying to Houston first thing in the morning. Can't wait to hold you."

Lady's heart aches. "Yeah. I uh can't wait to see you either."

"I love you." Nate says.

"I..." Lady looks at John who senses her trouble.

"It's okay." he mouths, assuring her.

"I love you too." she tells Nate.

When she hangs up John says, "It's alright. Beautiful, I know you care for him."  
"I just hate that I'm going to break his heart. Wow, didn't we have this conversation about you when I first go with Nate?"

He chuckles. "Yeah. And I'm sure if Nate's as good a guy as you think he is then he'll understand."

_He is a good guy, but I'm not sure he'll understand. _she thinks.

_Monday_

Nate grabs her into a tight hug. "I missed you so much!" He kisses her forcefully before she has a chance to respond.

She pulls away. "Nate we need to talk."

"You sound serious."

"Let's go in here." She pulls him into the dressing room.

"Lady what's wrong?"

She takes a deep breath but before she can reply there's a knock on the door. "Come in."  
Stephanie McMahon enters. "Lady, we need to see you in the office right now."

"Now?"

"Yes."

Lady turns to Nate. "I'll be back."

She follows Steph into the office and sees John with Vince and Shane. "What's going on?"  
"They haven't told me yet." John answers.

"We need to talk about your drug test John." Shane states.

"What about it?" John asks.

"You failed." announces Vince.

John and Lady are in absolute shock.


	42. Chapter 42

A/N: Warning violence in this chapter. Thanks again to my pal Cj for her help.

"I what?!" asks an astonished John.

"You failed your drug test." Vince reaffirms.

"No way. I've never taken a damn steroid in my life!"

"That's where things get even more interesting." proclaims Shane. "You didn't test positive for steroids, but for muscle relaxers."

"I've never taken those either." John insists.

"Does Cyclobenzaprine ring a bell...Lady?" Steph asks.

John looks at Lady who's trying to absorb the situation. "Flexeril. _My _muscle relaxer? How would that show up on _John's _drug test?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Steph replies.

"John did you take any of Lady's medication?" asks Vince.

"Absolutely not!"

Vince looks at Lady. "He didn't!" she insists.

"Did you give him anything without his permission?" Shane asks.

"Are you insane?!" she shouts. "I'm sorry. I mean of course not. I wouldn't do that."

"There's a mistake." John insists.

"We were shocked at the results and had them double-checked." Vince states.

"It would explain why you were sick." Shane says.

"But how'd it get in my system?" John asks.

Lady's head begins to ache as scenarios from the last few days flood through her mind. "No." she murmurs.

"Beautiful?.." John pulls her close.

"Oh my gosh, no! He couldn't!" she says in a daze.

John lifts her face and looks into her eyes. "Nate?"

She remains silent as tears come to her eyes.

"Nate bumped into me last week and caused me to drop some papers. He picked them up for me. One said that Cena was scheduled for drug testing." declares Steph.

"Lady did he have access to your medication?" asks Shane.

She nods. "But how did he manage to drug me?" wonders John.

"He offered to get your food while I went to the restroom. You mentioned your coffee tasting gritty; he must've put in it there." Lady slowly explains.

John becomes consumed with rage!

Nate walks up to Shawn in the hallway. "Hey." he says.

"Hey there."

"Listen, Lady says she has something important to talk to me about. Do you have any idea what it is?"

Before Shawn can think of a response he sees John racing toward Nate. "You son of a bitch!" John growls as he punches Nate. Shawn and Shane grab him to prevent further violence. "What the hell are you doing messing with my career?!"

Nate slowly stands, holding his face. "I don't know what you're talking about." He's terrified that he's been caught.

Lady walks up to him and stares into his eyes. "Nate you can't lie to me so don't try. You stole my medicine and drugged John didn't you?"

"N..." She was right he couldn't lie to her even if he tried. His voice quivers as he confesses, "I just wanted to get him in trouble. I thought if Vince suspended him he'd drop the angle of you being married. So you wouldn't have to spend as much time with him."

Numb, Lady replies, "Well congratulations. You got the exact opposite of what you wanted."  
"What do you mean?" asks Nate noticing the crowd now watching them.

"Taking care of John when he was sick made me realize how much I love him. I was trying to break up with you when Stephanie called me to the office. It's over Nate!"

"No! Lady you can't mean that. I'm sorry." He looks at John. "John I'm sorry!" John scoffs.

"Security get him out of here." Vince says.

Two guards grab Nate and proceed to drag him away. He struggles and calls for Lady. She covers her ears. John pulls free from Shawn and Shane and hugs her.

A few hours later things have calmed down. "How is she?" Shawn asks John.

"She's sleeping in the office. Vince didn't want her being sick come showtime. I'm sitting here debating calling the cops and turning Nate's ass in but..."

"But what?" inquires Shawn.

"We were in a different state the day it actually happened. I don't think his confession would be enough to get him put away. And...I don't want to cause more grief for Lady." John sighs. "I think she already feels guilty about the whole thing."  
"Knowing her she probably does." says Shawn.

Nate sits in his car across the street and rambles, "This can't be it. I can't lose her. I _need _her! I rented a boat. I got all her favorite food and music. This evening was supposed to be special and romantic." He stares at the arena. "I have to get her back."

John enters the office where Lady is sitting alone. "Hey Beautiful. You feeling better?"

Silently, she walks over to him and kisses him intensely. "I'm sorry." she whispers.

"For what?" he asks, confused.

"I knew he was jealous of you but..."

"Hey you didn't do anything wrong!"

"It's just like...when I was obsessed with him."

John furrows his brow. "How do you mean?"

Lady looks into his eyes. "You have no idea _how _messed up I was. I thought I needed him and he needed me. How could I let this happen?"

"You did not do anything wrong!" he insists. "Nate is responsible for his actions, not anyone else." She didn't look convinced. John strokes her hair. "Come on, let's head to the ring."

"Hey you." Shawn greets Lady on his way to the locker room.

"Hey." She's still feeling numb from the events of the day.

He places his hands on her shoulders and she flinches in pain. He lets go of her. "Listen, you can't get worked up like this. None of what happened was your fault."

"I should have known."

John comes out of the locker room. "Ready to go Beautiful?"

"Yeah."

"I'll see you tomorrow." Shawn tells her.

Lady climbs in the SUV as John places the bags in the trunk. "Crap!" he calls.

"What's wrong?"

"I left my phone in the locker room." He hesitates for a moment. "Lock the doors, I'll be right back."

She locks the doors then he heads back to the building. She closes her eyes and tries to relax from the tension built up in her shoulders. She is startled by a knock on the window! Her eyes fly open to see Nate.

"Hey." he says in a mousy voice.

"What are you doing back here?" asks a frightened Lady.

"Lady I just need to talk to you. Please you have to understand I didn't want to hurt John. I just didn't want to lose you."

"Nate you need help. I tried to help you but I can't."

His pulse starts to race and her becomes agitated "No! Lady, I just need _you_! YOU can take care of me."

"No I can't!" she insists.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" inquires John who's just appeared around the side of the SUV.

Nate turns toward him and a light reflects off of something in Nate's hand, blinding Lady for a moment. She hears John groan and looks in the side mirror to see blood on his shirt and realizes the object in Nate's hand is a knife. John finds it hard to breathe as the knife has hit his lung. He attempts to fight Nate but Nate stabs once more near his right shoulder. John feels his arm become virtually useless and finally collapses from the pain in his chest. Lady comes out of her shock and starts screaming. She climbs out of the driver's side of the vehicle and tries to run, with weakened legs. Nate grabs her from behind and begins dragging her. "SOMEBODY HELP PLEASE!" Nate continues to drag her backwards. John raises up and grabs her right wrist with his right hand. Nate kicks him in the mid-section causing him to release her; her bracelet snaps off in John's hand. Lady screams again! She tries to fight Nate but is too weak and in pain. She cries and struggles as he lifts her into the trunk of his car. She begs as he starts to close the trunk, "No please." She sobs as it becomes dark and begins to hyperventilate.

Nate climbs behind the wheel. As he starts to turn the key he sees the bloody knife in his hand. He looks out the window to see John on the ground. "You messed everything up again!" he whimpers as he stares. He then drops the knife on the floorboard and drives away.


	43. Chapter 43

A/N: Again thanks to my pal CJ for her help. I am not 100 happy with this chapter so feedback is greatly appreciated. Hope you enjoy.

Shawn and Randy exit the building and hear a distant scream. "What was that?" asks Randy.

"I don't know." replies Shawn. "Let's find out." As they run toward in direction the scream came from they hear tires screeching. They arrive at the spot and hear moaning. They look down to see John lying on the ground.

"John!" calls Randy. The men kneel on either side of him and gently roll him onto his back. They are startled to pull back bloody hands. "Oh man!"

"Go get the medics and Dr. Rios and call the police." Shawn dictates. Randy dashes back toward the building. Shawn takes off his jacket and holds it to John's wounds. "John, what happened? Where's Lady?" Shawn beseeches.

Struggling for air John gasps out, "He...took...her."

"Who?" Then it occurs to Shawn. "Nate?" John manages a slight nod.

Randy returns with the doctor and medics. Shawn stands to let them do their job. "The cops are on the way." informs Randy. "What happened?"

"Nate's got Lady." explains a worried Shawn.

Lady had passed out due to hyperventilating but awakens as the car bounces along a bumpy road. The events that just occurred play in her mind. "Oh Cena." she whispers.

Nate parks at the marina. He gets out and opens the trunk. Lady blinks to adjust her eyes to the light. She whimpers in pain as he begins to tie her wrists. "OW! Stop."

He hates seeing her in pain so he decides to not bind her. He looks into her eyes. "Promise you won't try to leave me."

She didn't know what to do. She was terrified of going with him but even more terrified of what he might do if she fought. _Maybe if I just go along with him I can work my way out of this. _She nods. "I promise."

John struggles to stay conscious. Through the fog he hears Dr. Rios say, "He's stable, let's get ready to load him in the ambulance."

"What's this in his hand?" asks a medic, drawing everyone's attention.

John looks at Shawn and slowly unclenches his fist. "That's Lady's bracelet." Shawn states. He kneels down and takes it from John. "We'll find her." he assures.

John is unable to speak due to his oxygen mask yet his eyes plead, "You have to."

Lady panics when she realizes where she is. _A boat? I can't swim or operate a boat. How am I supposed to escape?...Just stay calm._ She looks up at Nate. _Maybe I can convince him to turn himself in and let me go._

"Watch your step." he tells her as he helps her onto the boat. "You remember when I took you sailing before?" he asks as he unties the boat from it's port.

"I remember." she replies.

"That's how this night was supposed to go." He grows quiet for a moment. "You know I think I could have worked out something and shared you with John."

"What?!" Lady is shocked at the statement.

He speeds away from the dock. "But not now. Now I can't let you see him again."

"Nate, do you even know what you did to John?" Lady asks slowly.

"HE WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE THERE!" Nate snaps. "It was just supposed to be us and now it will be."

Lady is so stunned that all she can think to do is pray.

Randy steps outside of the hospital. "You calling Rebecca?" he asks Shawn.

"Yeah. I don't want Carly finding out about this on the news. Rebecca's going to talk to her. How's John?"

"They're getting an OR ready. Vince is sending his plane to get John's parents and brothers. They should be here in a few hours." Randy states.

"Hopefully we'll find Lady safe and sound by then." Shawn says.

In the ER the surgeon looks over John's x-ray. "Okay we got a partially collapsed left lung here." says the surgeon looking at the x-ray. "We'll see how damaged his right chest is after we deal with that."

John begins to feel pressure in his left side and to breathe rapidly. "His vital signs are going all over the place." announces a frantic nurse.

The surgeon does a quick examination. "Tension Pneumo! We need to do a needle thoracostomy. I'm sorry about this." he tells John before making an incision into his chest. John groans and tears come to his eyes. The doctor inserts a cannula and the pressure in John's chest immediately eases.

Nate steers the boat in silence and is startled when Lady gasps loudly. He turns to see her looking pale and struggling for air. She feels intense pressure in her left side. "Lady!" He kneels before where she's sitting. "What's wrong? What's happening?!"

She feels a cutting sensation and begins to cry, then suddenly she can breathe again. She collapses against Nate's shoulder and weeps.

"Shh it's okay now." He strokes her hair.

"John." she cries. _He needs me. I have to get to him.  
_"No. No, not John." Nate wipes her tears. "It's just us. Okay? Look he's got people to take care of him. I don't! I just have you."

"I have a headache." she says grabbing her head.

"You probably need to eat." Nate suggests. "I got you some chicken salad croissants. I put em in the fridge down below. I'll be right back." He gently kisses her lips then leaves.

She dissolves in tears again then something catches her eye. Something lying on the floor of the boat next to Nate's bag. It's his cell phone! It must have fallen from his jacket without him noticing. Without hesitation Lady grabs it and begins to dial!

John is wheeled toward the elevator. Several WWE Superstars and Divas are in the waiting area to show their support. Randy walks toward him. "Hang in there man. Your family's on the way. And we'll find Lady and bring her back."

John closes his eyes and prays that's true. _Beautiful! You have to be alright._

Randy heads back outside where Shawn is talking with police. "They're taking him to surgery."

"Hopefully all goes well." says Officer Mitchell.

Shawn's cell phone rings. At first he's taken aback by the caller ID. "Nate?" he answers.  
"Shawn!" Lady whimpers.

"Lady!" He is relieved to hear her voice. "Where are you?!"

Lady hears Nate coming up the stairs before she can answer. She quickly puts the phone inside the hoodie of his jacket and stands. "Hey!" she says loudly hoping to indicate to Shawn to remain quiet.

"What are you doing?" Nate asks her.

"What's going on?" Randy asks Shawn.

"I don't know. I think she's hidden the phone from Nate." Shawn replies, muting the phone.

"Put it on speaker so I can hear." says Off. Mitchell.

"I was getting stiff sitting down so I thought I'd move around a bit." Lady says.

Nate smiles. "You do whatever you have to. I want you to be comfortable. I want to take care of you." he says as he strokes her cheek. "Let's eat."

"Okay I got some info." announces Off. Logan.

"Shh. We've got them on the line." states Off. Mitchell.

Lady prays that Shawn can still hear. She begins to seek info from Nate. "Where are we going?"

"It was supposed to be just a romantic little trip around the bay." He pauses. "But now I say we go down the Gulf of Mexico to the Florida Keys. You know I've got a little place there. It's quiet and peaceful; we can be together."

"We traced his credit card. He rented a boat at Lyle's Marina." states Off. Logan.

"I'm gonna work on getting a trace on the phone. Let's head to the marina." says Off. Mitchell.

"I'm going with you." announces Shawn.

"I don't think so." says Off. Mitchell.

"Listen, she's my little sister. I'm going!" Shawn insists.

The officers look at each other then nod in agreement.

"Keep me posted." Randy requests.

"Yeah, you too." replies Shawn.

The time passes in relative quiet as Lady prays for John and to be found soon. "If ya want you can go below and lie down." Nate suggests. He strokes her face then pulls her gently against himself. "You need your rest; I don't want you getting sick on me."

"We're almost there." Off. Logan states. "We have a boat ready to take us out where they are. Fortunately he's not going fast."

"And fortunately he seems to be trying to take care of her." Shawn asserts.

She feels drained; it's all she can do to sit up. _I can't sleep. I have to get to John._ "I don't want to lay down."

"Okay you can stay up here." He sees goose bumps on her arms. "You're cold. Lemme get you something."

Lady panics when Nate starts to pick up his hoodie.

"Oh please no." Shawn prays.

"What the hell is this?" Nate looks at Lady with anger as he picks up the phone. He tosses it into the water. He grabs lady up by her arms. She screams in pain and begins to cry. "YOU SAID YOU WOULDN'T TRY TO LEAVE ME!"

"Nate please."

He wraps a hand around her throat. "I can't trust you, I can't trust anyone."

She gasps for air and stares into his angry eyes.

In the operating room, John's lung has been repaired now doctors are working on his right pectoral muscle.

Monitors starts beeping! "His SATs are dropping." announces the nurse.

"Okay increase oxygen." commands the doctor, not understanding what's causing the problem. Before the nurse can comply John's SATS return to normal.

Nate suddenly turns Lady loose. "I'm sorry. Oh Lady I'm sorry." He eases her down onto the floor as she stabilizes her breathing. "I love you. You have to know that." He kisses her. He eases her down and climbs on top of her. "I don't want to hurt you; I just want to take care of you." He caresses her and tugs at her clothes. She begins to go into shock at the realization of what's happening."

John's monitors begin going off again. "Doctor he's going into shock." proclaims the nurse.

"What the hell is going on?!" exclaims the perplexed doctor.


	44. Chapter 44

A/N: I don't know or own anyone associated with WWE or their families. Thanks to my pal CJ again for being my editor.

"Randy?" Mr. Cena calls as John's family reaches the waiting room. "How is he?"

"Still in surgery." Randy replies. Just then the doctor enters. "Doc, this is John's parents and brothers."

"How's my son?" Carol beseeches.

"He gave us a couple of scares but he's stable now. He had a partially collapsed left lung. His right pectoral tendon was severed, that will take a while to heal."  
"I want to see him." insists Carol.

The doctor thinks for a moment. "I think that will be a good idea. I'm sure he'll be agitated when he wakes up. Just the two of you." he tells John Sr. and Carol.

Carol gasps at the sight of her son hooked up to the ventilator, his right arm in a sling. They stand to the left side of his bed, and Carol takes his hand.

Lady sits numb, staring at Nate who's sitting on the opposite side of the boat in tears.

"There they are." announces Off. Mitchell.

Off. Logan gets on the horn and calls Nate's name. Nate slowly raises his head and looks in the direction of the oncoming boat. Bit by bit he stands with his hands raised. The police boat stops and Shawn begins to approach. Off. Mitchell stops him. "Let Shawn go to her." Nate pleads.

Lady watches as Shawn walks toward her. He kneels down and sees her bruised face and torn clothes. "Oh no." he mumbles.

"How's John?" she whispers.

Off. Logan cuffs Nate's hands behind his back. "Nathan Brody, you are under arrest for assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping...and whatever else we discover you've done."

"I didn't mean to hurt anyone." Nate responds sadly.

The nurse approaches Mr. Cena. "You're wanted in the waiting room."

"What's going on?" he asks when he reaches Randy.

"Shawn just called. He's on his way with Lady."

"How is she?"

"He said she's banged up and worried about John."

John's eyes gradually open. Disoriented at first, when he finally realizes where he is and remembers what's taken place he begins to panic. He grabs for the tube in his mouth. "Son no!" His mother grabs his hand.

Hearing the commotion Mr. Cena re-enters the room. The doctor appears, "Hello John. Listen you need to calm down if you want me to take that tube out." John relaxes as the doctor removes the tape from his face. "Now you need to take a breath for me and blow out on the count of three. One...two...three."

John coughs and groans in pain as the tube exits his throat. "Lady?" he gasps.  
"They found her and she's on her way." Mr. Cena tells him as the doctor places an oxygen mask on him.

Shawn walks Lady into the ER. "I wanna see John."

"You will, but you need to get checked out first."

She begins to cry and becomes belligerent. "No I want to see John now! Take me to him! He needs me!"

A young female doctor touches her shoulder. "Hi Lady. I'm Trina. I understand that you want to see your boyfriend but... Don't you think you'd both feel better if you rest for a minute and get cleaned up before you see him?" Lady touches her swollen left cheek and nods. "Let Nurse Lois here take into a cubicle while I talk to your friend."

"Thank you." Shawn says.

Trina sighs. "She's not the first woman to deal with something like this unfortunately."

Lois places an ice pack on Lady's cheek and sets up for the exam. Lady sees the rape kit. "No." she says.

Trina and Shawn enter the cubicle. "What's wrong?" Trina asks.

"I don't need that." Lady insists.

"Lady, it's nothing to be embarrassed about. What happened..."

"It didn't happen! He stopped." Lady explains. Shawn breathes a sigh of relief.

"What do you think?" Trina asks him.

"I believe she's telling the truth. Evidently he tried but thankfully he didn't go through with it."

John is moved to ICU and awaits Lady's arrival. He struggles to stay awake. "Just relax." he father says.

Lady changes into clean clothes. She flinches as Lois brushes her hair then pulls her hair over her left cheek. "What are you doing?" Lois asks.

"I don't want John to see."

Shawn wheels her to the ICU waiting room. She sees John's brothers and her co-workers. "I'll let Dad know you're here." Dan says.

Mr. Cena appears. "Hey Lady." he whispers. He wheels her to John's bed side. She gasps at the site of him looking helpless. "Can I touch him?"

"Sure, just be careful." assures Carol

Lady struggles to stand on weak legs. She takes hold of his left hand and strokes his head. "Hey Cena. Open those beautiful eyes for me." He opens his eyes and she sees a weak smile under the oxygen mask. He squeezes her hand as she kisses his. "We're gonna be okay. I love you so much." He makes the "I love you" sign with his hand.

A moment later John drifts back into sleep. "Come on." Mr. Cena says.

"No. I don't wanna leave him." She feels panicked. "Please don't make me leave him." she cries.

"Lady, calm down. You're going to upset him." Mr. Cena tries to soothe her; instead she faints in his arms.

"He's refusing to call an attorney?" asks. DA Evan Moore.

"Yep. He just keeps saying 'I hurt them but I didn't mean to." states. Off. Logan.

"Put him in a holding cell. I'll get Dr. Holloway to come see him as soon as possible." announces Evan.

A while later Off. Mitchell walks by Nate's cell. "Oh crap!" he exclaims at the sight of blood. Nate has slashed his wrist on the sharp edge of his bunk. Off. Mitchell rushes inside. "Medic!" He checks Nate and finds a weak pulse. "Stay with me." he pleads.

Sunlight shines through the window as Shawn, Rebecca and Carly gaze at Lady. Lady's eyes open and she looks at them all. "Where am I? Where's John?" She sits up in a frenzy.

"You're in the hospital, just settle down." says Carly.

"I gotta go to John!" Lady attempts to get out of bed.

"Lady, he needs you to relax. You're not going to do him any good like this." Shawn says.

"I just wanna be with him." Lady whimpers.

"Eat some breakfast then you can see him." Rebecca suggests.

John lies on his left side and winces in pain following his physical therapy session. "I wanna see Lady." he tells his father.

"I'm sure she'll be here in a little while."

"I don't know what that bastard did to her. But I could kill him." he says with anger. Suddenly she appears being pushed in a wheelchair by a nurse. "Beautiful." He smiles. He struggles to sit upright.

"Careful." his father says as he helps him.

"Hi." Lady speaks timidly.

"I'll leave you two alone." Mr. Cena announces before exiting.

"Come here." John taps the bed next to him. Lady chews her lip in worry. "It's okay. You won't hurt me." She gently eases herself onto the edge of the bed. He brushes her hair away from her face as she tries to turn away. He spots the bruise on her cheek. Tears fill his eyes. "I should have protected you."

"Shh. It's okay." she comforts him. "I'm fine compared to you. But you're gonna get better."

"The doctor says it'll take six months to a year for the pec to heal. I think I would prefer the thirty-day suspension. I was lying there in the parking lot and then down in the ER... The worst part was not knowing what he was doing to you." He looks into her eyes. "Beautiful what did he do to you."

She's silent for a moment. "Not what you're worried about."

"He didn't..."

"He tried but he stopped."

John felt relieved but at the same time he still wanted to punish Nate.

"Excuse me." says a nurse. "The district attorney is here to see the both of you."

"Alright." replies John.

A man enters the room and introduces himself. "Hello. I'm Evan Moore. I'm a big fan, but sorry to meet the two of you under these circumstances."

"So are we?" says Lady.

"I'm glad you're here though so you can tell us what you're gonna do with Nate." states John.

"I'm not sure right now if I _can _do anything with him." says Evan.

"What are you talking about?" asks John.

"Nate's not in jail. He's upstairs on the psych ward."

"WHAT?!" John snaps. Lady just stares at Evan in shock.

"He sliced his wrist on the edge of his bunk. And he was completely out of it when the police tried to interview him. He refused to contact an attorney and just kept saying he didn't mean to hurt you."  
"Of course he did!" John yells. His heart begins racing. "Lady you gotta get out of here. He can't get to you again."

"John calm down!"  
"Mr. Cena he's on lockdown. He's not going anywhere."

"What's going on in here?" The nurse dashes into the room.  
"He got upset. Cena just calm down _please_." Lady pleads.

He takes a deep breath and groans in pain. "I'm okay. I'm sorry I freaked out. I just don't want anything to happen to you."

"I'm sorry." claims Evan. "I should have realized how upset you'd be."  
"If he gets worked up like that again you'll both have to leave." says the nurse.

"I'll be fine." John insists. The nurse leaves. "So what happens now?" he asks Evan.

"My friend Dr. Walter Holloway is a psychiatrist. He does a lot of consulting for me. He's going to evaluate Nate and tell me if he's fit to stand trial. I would like to get testimonies from the two of you in case he says I can go forward with prosecution."

"Absolutely." John states.

Evan notices a distance look in Lady's eyes. "Miss Davis, how about you? Will you help me build the case against Nate?"

She looks at him and utters a frank, "No."


	45. Chapter 45

A/N: Thanks to my friends CJ and AJ for help in this chapter.

John is stunned! "Did you just say 'no'?"

"I will leave you alone and come back after I hear from Dr. Holloway." announces Evan. Lady and John don't even notice him exit the room.

"Please tell me I didn't hear you right." John pleads.

"Nate needs help." Lady claims.

"He needs help?" John laughs. "I'm here in a hospital bed healing from a punctured lung and torn pec and _HE _needs help?"

"He didn't mean to hurt you." she insists.

"He drugged me a few days ago. I'm seeing a pattern, don't tell me he didn't mean it."

"John, he's sick."

"Oh well I'll give ya that one." He leans toward her and grunts in pain. "Ow. Lady, what about what he did to you?"

Lady sighs. "He actually tried to take care of me."

"What?" John asks bewildered.

"He took me on a boat. He'd planned a romantic evening, before I broke up with him of course. He didn't tie me up once he saw he was hurting my wrists." She pauses. "I went with him hoping I could talk him into giving himself up. He was...not all there it seemed. He kept insisting that all he had was me." She looks into John's eyes with tears in her own. "He made sure I had something to eat and offered to let me lay down to sleep. He only got upset when he found out I'd called Shawn on his cell phone and hidden it. That's when... everything else happened." _Sort of. _She touches her cheek recalling the rest of the events that she _couldn't _tell John or anyone.

"I just don't understand how you can do this." John insists.

Lady's heart breaks knowing how betrayed he must feel. "This doctor is impartial. Let's just wait and see what he says after her examines Nate." she insists.

"But you said that if he does declare Nate competent to stand trial that you won't testify." He glares at her. "He tried to rape you."

"Well so did you." She covers her mouth in shock at what she's just said.

"Wow." John exclaims. "You know if I have one regret in my life it's that. That's what led to all of this. You left my house and hooked up with him. The rest is history."

Lady takes his hand. "But we got past it. We can get past this."

"I don't know if we..." John begins to feel hot and nauseous. He sighs.

"What's wrong?" Lady touches his forehead. "You're burning up! NURSE!"

The nurse and Mr. Cena enter the room. "What's wrong?" asks the nurse.

"I...I don't feel well." John says, resting his head back against his pillow.  
The nurse checks his temperature in his ear. "99.5."

"Oh gosh." Lady whimpers.

"That's not unusual after major trauma. Doesn't mean anything's wrong, he just needs to rest."

"Lady let me take you back to your room." suggests Mr. Cena.

"I love you...you have to know that." Lady insists. She stretches over to kiss John's cheek.

"Don't!" he states coldly. "Just leave me alone."

Lady's heart falls to her stomach as his harshness. She sits in her wheelchair and let's Mr. Cena wheel her out.

Mr. Cena sees the pained look at Lady's face. "He'll come around." he assures.

When they enter Lady's room she sees a well-known face she hasn't seen in a while. "Hey you." Chris says kneeling before her.

She smiles faintly. "Hi. What are you doing here?"

"I was already in town for work. I contacted Shawn as soon as I heard what happened." he explains. "He and Rebecca took your mom to get something to eat." He helps her into her bed as Mr. Cena leaves. "How's John?"

"It's gonna take him a while to get better. But he will..." She begins to cry, "But I don't know if _we _will." She curls into a ball on her side and sobs.

Chris strokes her hair. "Hey don't think like that. Everything's going to be fine."

"I love him so much. I can't lose him." Lady insists.

John dozes in his hospital bed. He opens his eyes and sees a blurry figure coming toward him. He's stricken with fear when he realizes it's Nate. Nate glares at him with an evil smirk. John reaches for the call light but Nate grabs it away. Nate slowly raises his arm in the air and John spots the knife in his hand.

Mr. Cena enters the room as John's monitors start sounding. He sees his son struggling and sweating in his sleep. "John! Wake up!" He gently shakes him. John wakes up gasping for air. "You're alright son."

"He tried to kill me." John whimpers.

"You're safe now." his father insists.

"He tried to kill me and she wants to let him get away with it."

_The next day_

"Lady you need to go back to San Antonio." Shawn states.

"I'm not leaving Houston. I have to be stay here." she persists.

"You can't stay in the hospital." Shawn informs her.

"So I'll stay at the hotel."

"You could stay with me." Chris suggests. "I rented a house not far from here. You'd have your own space."

She thinks for a moment. She didn't want to leave John and since Shawn was heading back home it'd be comforting to have a friend around. "Yeah. I'd appreciate that, thank you."

After she's all packed she has Chris take her by ICU to see John. "You might as well just leave." snaps John's baby brother, Sean. "He doesn't want to see you."

"I love him!" she affirms.

"Well your so-called love nearly killed him."

"Don't talk to her like that." Chris intercedes.

Pain flashes through Lady's head. "Let's just go Chris." _But I'm not giving up; I'll be back. _she thinks.


	46. Chapter 46

A/N: Thanks to my pal CJ as usual. Thanks to my pal AJ for giving me an idea of the Jericho direction ;-) I hope it peaks more interest and I get more feedback. Feedback of greatly appreciated.

Chris pulls into the driveway of a white, two-story house. He looks at Lady who stares off into space. He places his hand lightly on her shoulder. "If you want to go back to the hotel I'll take you."

She turns her pale face toward him. "No. This place seems great." she replies softly.

Once inside Lady looks around the open area. "Does one person really need all this space?" she asks with a chuckle.

"Believe it or not it's cheaper than spending weeks on end in a hotel." Chris replies. "Plus it's out of the way and peaceful."

"Where's my room?" she asks.

"You can take your pick. There's one down here and two upstairs. I'm using one upstairs."

"Upstairs is fine." she replies

Chris notices her zombie-like state. "Come on." He shows her the bedroom. "Why don't you lie down? Maybe a nap will help you feel better."

"The only thing that's going to make me feel better is going back in time and this never happening." she says as she lies on the bed.

Chris sits next to her and strokes her hair. "I'm gonna be gone during the evenings doing the play. But if you need me just call."

"Okay." she whispers.

_At the hospital_

"Have you tried to call Lady?" Mr. Cena asks.

"No." John replies. "I'm giving her some space to decide whose side she's on."

His father hears the pain in his voice. "Son, I've seen the way she looks at you. I believe she really loves you."

"Then why does she want Nate to get away with everything?" John wonders.

"John will come around. Just give him time." Chris insists.

"I can understand if he doesn't. I don't know what I'll do though if he doesn't." Lady tears up and looks into Chris' eyes. "He's my soulmate." she says softly.

He leans toward her. "Do you really believe that?" She nods. He pulls her toward him and she leans her head on his shoulder. "Then believe that it will all work out." He pauses for a moment. "Or you could just forget about him and Nate both and hook up with me." Lady sits bolt upright and stares at him shocked. "Lady, I'm kidding. It was a joke."

She relaxes. "Oh. Good...because if I did fall for you you'd get hurt just like them."

"So what, you think you're some kind of jinx or something?" Chris asks.

"One man is in ICU cause he was stabbed and the other in on the psych ward because he did it. What does that tell you?" she states.

Chris gently touches her bruised cheek. "Lady, can you really let Nate off the hook that easily?"

"You don't know what happened on that boat."

"I know enough. Shawn told me." he insists.

"Nate has problems. I knew that a long time before I even got involved with him."

"If that's true then why are you blaming yourself?"

She flashes back to a moment on the boat. "I let him get too attached to me."

Chris lets out an exacerbated sigh. He's frustrated that he can't get through to her. "I have to get going. _Please _stop dwelling on everything." he pleads.

"I'll try." she says.

"Good. I'll see you later tonight." He kisses the top of her head before leaving.

John flips through the channels on the television in his room. He comes across a Bon Jovi music video and thinks back to the night he surprised Lady with meeting them. _She was so happy to see Jon Bon Jovi. _He chuckles recalling her excited squeal. He remembers asking her to marry him. "Why didn't you just say yes, Beautiful?"

Late night, Chris comes home to a quiet house. He goes upstairs and lightly taps on Lady's door. Getting no response he slowly opens and peeks inside. She is lying sound asleep. He smiles seeing her finally appearing peaceful.

_Dream_

Lady sees John sitting before her. "I'm so glad you're here." She strokes his face. "I love you so much."

He responds with a smile and wrapping his arms around her tiny body. He slowly leans down and claims her lips in a slow, sweet kiss. She relishes in the feeling but realizes something is different. His lips are different, arms smaller, his hair is longer and softer between her fingers. She pulls back with a gasp. Eyes widen in shock as Chris says, "I love you, Lady."

Lady's eyes fly open in the daylight. Her heart is pounding. "What the..?!"


	47. Chapter 47

A/N: I am glad so many folks are adding me to their favorite stories list. I do appreciate it but I would really love if it folks posted more feedback. Thanks. :-D

"Well John, I see no reason why you can't get out of here today." says Dr. Brown.

"Finally! I'm tired of this place." exclaims John.

"Now hold on. I mean out of ICU, you still have to stay in the hospital. I'm sending you to a step-down unit."

"Oh man. Doc, seriously I feel like the lung's fine now."

"One more day of antibiotics and observation."

John sighs. His mother glares at him. "Don't even think about signing out against medical advice." she declares.

John chuckles. "Yes maam."

Shaken from her dream, Lady wanders out of her room. She approaches the balcony and peers over the railing. She sees Chris in the kitchen. _Why did I have that dream?_

He looks up at her. "Good morning." he greets. "Would you like some pancakes for breakfast?"

"Yeah sure." she replies softly before descending the spiral staircase.

She sits at the counter as he sits a plate in front of her. "How did you sleep?" he asks.

The dream flashes through her mind. "Um...I...dreamed some weird stuff." she murmurs.

"About what?" he inquires.

She hesitates for a moment. "You." she states.

He smiles. "Oh I get it. It's about what I said last night." He places his hand over hers and looks into her eyes. "Lady, I really was just kidding." he assures her. "I saw the way you looked at John on Valentine's. It was obvious how you feel about him."

"Not to me it wasn't." she says sadly. "Otherwise we wouldn't be in this mess." Just then they hear "You Give Love a Bad Name" coming from upstairs. Chris looks at her confused. "That's my phone." She stands to go upstairs. "Appropriate isn't it?" Chris just shakes his head.

"Hello?" she answers.

"Lady, it's Mr. Cena."

"Is John okay?!"

"He's fine. I just wanted to you let you know that he's been moved out of ICU. He's in room 418 now."

Lady's heart fills with joy realizing that John's father is trying to help her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

She goes back downstairs. "Can you take me to the hospital in a little while?"

"Yeah. Was that John?" Chris asks.

"No, it was his dad. For some reason he's trying to help me with John."

Chris pulls in front of the hospital. "I have some errands to run but I'll be back later. Just..."  
"Call you if I need anything." Lady finishes his thought. "I know. Wish me luck." she says getting out of the car.

She enters the room to find it empty. "Oh man, what are you doing here?!" comes a voice from behind.

She turns to see John's youngest brother. "Where's John?!" she asks.

"He went to Peds to visit some kids. I want you gone before he gets back." Sean informs her.  
"No! I'm not going anywhere."

"You're the reason he's in here!"

"I love him. I never meant for any of this to happen."

Sean sighs. "Just get out." He grabs her arm.  
"OW!"

"What the hell's going on?! Let her go!" John exclaims, glaring angrily at his brother.

"I was just..." Sean tries to explain.  
"Go." John says softly.

"What about her?"

"It's alright." Sean leaves the room. John asks Lady, "You alright?"

She nods. "How are you?"

He sits on the edge of the hospital bed. "Going stir-crazy."

"Shocker." she chuckles.

"I promised Mom I wouldn't sign out AMA. The doctor said I could leave tomorrow."

"That's good. I would have stayed till you were released if they'd let me."

"Well the hotel's more comfortable." John says.

"Actually I'm staying with Chris."

"Jericho?"

"Yeah. He's in town acting in a play. He came when he heard about what happened. He's rented a place and offered to let me stay. This way I can be close to someone."

"Makes sense. How did you know I was out of ICU?" Lady isn't sure whether to answer or not but it occurs to John. "Dad?"

"Yeah. Are you mad at him?" she asks.

"No." He shakes his head. "He says he believes that you love me."

She takes his face in her hands. "I do Cena. More than I can say." She kisses him.

He returns the kiss then pulls away. "Stop! Why are you on Nate's side if you love me so much?"

"I'm on the side of what's right." she insists.

"What's right?! Was it right for him to stab me and kidnap you?!"

"No! It's just that I understand that he didn't mean to do it. He was just..." She takes a deep breath. "I told you how obsessed I was with Nate."

"It's not the same thing, Lady." John asserts. "You never hurt anybody. Never committed crimes and put somebody in the hospital."

"I was fortunate enough to never get that close to Nate. Or I might have." she confesses.

"No! I don't believe that."

"It's true. I said and thought crazy things. Things that scared me. Things that...scared others. Ask Shawn."

Before John can think of a response Evan Moore arrives with another man. "Good you're both here." Evan says. "Is this a bad time?"

"No." John replies.

"This is Dr. Walter Holloway."

"You can call me Doc Walt."

"You're here about Nate?" Lady asks.

"Yes." replies Walt. "I am _very _sorry for what you have both been through. However, after evaluating Nate the last couple of days... I cannot say he's fit to stand trial."

"You gotta be kidding me." John declares.

"I truly don't believe that he meant to harm you, or knew what he was doing when he did." explains Walt.

"You wouldn't believe me but will you believe the doctor, John?" Lady inquires softly.

"No. I want a second opinion." John insists.

"My colleagues evaluated Nate and agree."

"With this information from the doctors I can't press charges." Evan states. "I wish there was more I could do."

"You could leave." John hisses.

The men exist. Lady touches John's shoulder. "It'll be okay."

He laughs and shrugs her hand off. "Are you kidding? There's nothing okay about this. But I bet you're happy. Nate's off the hook."

"John you don't understand..."  
"You're damn right I don't. Get out."

"What?" she whimpers.

"Get out! I...I can't even look at you right now." he says closing his eyes.

"I love you Cena." He ignores her. Shaking and heart racing, she runs out of the room.

Once in the main lobby she pulls out her phone and dials.

"Hello?" Chris answers.

"Chris, it's Lady. Can you come and get me now, please?"

"Yeah, I'm just down the street. I'll be right there."

Lady cowers in a corner while she waits. She grips her head as intense pain fills it. She feels a hand on her arm and looks up to see a concerned Chris. She throws her arms around him and sobs. "Hey what happened?" he asks softly.

She tries to explain, "John... The...the doctor says Nate's not fit to stand trial and... He threw me out."

Chris holds her close and strokes her hair. "Just calm down. Do you want me to go talk to him?"

She begins to relax. She pulls back from him and wipes her face. "No. I don't think he'll listen to anyone right now."

"Well then let me get you home."

When they arrive back at the house, Chris says, "I want you to come to the theater with me tonight. I don't want to leave you here alone."

"Fine." Lady whispers. "I'm gonna go to my room for a while."  
Chris periodically checks on her and finds her sound asleep. Finally he peaks and sees her sitting on the bed staring into space. He sits next to her and puts his arm around her. "It'll work out, ya gotta believe it will."

"It has to." she insists.

"You need to eat something."

"No. I'm not hungry." she resists.

Chris sighs. "Come on, ya know how you get if you don't eat."

"I don't want anything!"

He teases; "I could always hold you down and make you."

Lady flashes back to Nate attacking her on the boat and pulls away from Chris.

"Oh no. Lady, I'm sorry!" he declares. "That was probably the dumbest thing I've ever said."

"It's okay." she reassures.

"I don't know what made Nate stop but I'm glad he did." Chris states.

"He didn't want me to..." Lady begins but stops as Nate's voice runs through her mind,

_YOU SAID YOU'D NEVER TALK ABOUT THAT!_

"He didn't want you to what?" Chris asks.

She hesitates for a moment before answering; "He didn't want to hurt me."


	48. Chapter 48

A/N: I love that I see folks adding me to their favorite authors or stories list but I really appreciate actual feedback. So please post. Thanks.

"Great job." Lady tells Chris. "I always knew you were a comedian."

"I'm just glad to finally see you smiling." Chris admits.

She smiles. "It felt good to laugh."

"You ready to go?"

"Yeah. Is it okay if I take the car tomorrow?" she asks. "I want to go see John."

"You sure that's a good idea?" Chris inquires.

"You told me to believe that it'll all work out. I'm not giving up."

_The next day_

Lady takes a deep breath and knocks on the door of John's hotel room.

Mr. Cena looks through the peephole. "It's Lady." he tells his son.

John's heart aches. "Let her in." he sighs.

Mr. Cena opens the door. "Hello Lady."

"Hi." she says softly. She enters slowly.

"I'll be back in a little while." Mr. Cena says before exiting.

"What do you want?" John asks.

"Us." she replies. "This can't be the end." John gets up off the bed and stands with his back to her. She begins to cry. "Cena I can't take you hating me."

John tears up. "I don't hate you. I love you! That's why this hurts so damn much."

She wraps her arms around him, careful of his injured arm. "I'd give anything to make you stop hurting."

He pulls away from her. "Time is the only thing I can think of that would possibly help. I don't think you could ever convince me that Nate didn't mean to hurt us. I just need to focus on getting better. I'm going back to Tampa tomorrow."

"I'll come with you." she announces.

He faces her. "No, you won't! I...Like I said I just need to focus on getting better."  
"I want to take care of you." she insists.

"Well you wanting to take care of Nate is what got us into this mess." he snaps. "Please leave."

Lady enters the house and tosses her purse on the counter. "I take it that things didn't go so well." Chris says.

She sits on the couch next to him. "I don't want to lose him. I can't." she whimpers.

Chris puts his arm around her. "Tell me what happened when you broke up with John for Nate."  
"I was stupid."

Chris laughs. "I mean what did John do?"

"He let me go." she recalls.

"Why?"

"He wanted me to be happy."

"And you found your way back to him right?" Chris asks.

"We were working on it when all hell broke loose." She glares at Chris. "What's your point?"

"My point is that maybe you need to give John some space. If you believe you're meant to be then it'll work out."

"I just wish I hadn't messed up so bad." she confesses.

"You can't undo anything so stop beating yourself up."

That night Lady tosses and turns in her sleep as events of that awful night flood her mind.

Chris is jolted awake by the sound of screams. "Lady!" He races toward her room. She's sitting up shaking and hyperventilating. He pulls her against his chest. "It's alright, it was just a dream."

"I couldn't stop Nate." she cries. "I couldn't keep him from hurting John. And then...I can feel him grabbing me and holding me."

Chris tenses up as a terrible thought enters his mind. He takes her face in his hands. "Lady, look at me. Did Nate rape you that night?"

"No." She shakes her head incessantly.

"Tell me the truth." he pleads.

"I am. He stopped. He didn't..." She feels Nate striking her face and jumps.

Chris is perplexed by Lady's behavior. "Listen to me. Last night you said that Nate didn't want you to...To what?"

"He didn't want to hurt me." she insists.

"That's not what you meant."

Lady speaks quietly, "I can't tell. It's bad enough I broke Nate's heart, I can't betray his trust too. It might make John understand...but I can't tell." She slides down in the bed, curls up on her side and stares into space.

Chris pulls the covers up over her and strokes her hair. _What the hell happened on that boat? _he wonders.

"John, wake up." Sean gently shakes his brother.

"What?!" John snaps.

"Are you alright? You were calling for Lady in your sleep."

John sighs. "I was dreaming about that night. I wish I'd been able to protect her."

"Her?!" Sean's bewildered. "She's the rea..."  
"I know! She's the reason I got hurt." John states. "That doesn't change how I feel about her."

_Late the next morning_

"What are doing?" Chris asks when he sees Lady packing.

"I'm gonna go home." she says going about her business.

"Have you looked outside?" Chris motions to the window. Outside it's raining so hard you cannot see. Lady stares numbly, at the darkness as the rain beats against the window. "I doubt you can get a flight out." Chris proclaims.

A smile slowly spreads across Lady's face. "If I can't get to San Antonio then John can't get to Tampa." She grabs her phone.  
"What are doing?"

"I'm going to call him." she says.

"I thought you decided to take my advice and give him some space." Chris states.

"He needs me."

"Does he really? Or do you just need him to need you?"

The question stopped Lady cold. "Oh my gosh." she mutters. "I think you might be right." She starts to cry.

"Come here." Chris puts an arm around her. "It'll be alright. Let's go downstairs, I'll make you something to eat."

John stares quietly out the window.

"I know you hate being stuck here, but hopefully you can fly out tomorrow." Mr. Cena says.

"Yeah hopefully." John thinks to himself, _Maybe I should call or go see Lady... No, it won't change anything. _His heart aches.

_Late that afternoon_

Lady awakens as Chris covers her with a blanket. "I didn't mean to you wake you. You just looked cold." he says

"It's okay." She sits up on the couch. "How long have I been asleep?"

"About an hour. You went to sleep right after dinner. If you'd stayed asleep I would have left you alone but since you're awake..."

"I don't really feel like going to the theater." she insists.

"I don't think you should be alone."

She groans. "I'm just...tired and it's too cold out." She gives a sly pout.

He laughs. "You sure you'll be okay?" She nods. "Alright then." He caves. "I'll see you later." He hugs her.

She finds herself clinging to her friend a little longer than usual. She pulls away. "I'll see you later."

Chris hesitates for a moment, thinking something's wrong. He decides to let it go. He kisses her forehead. "Bye."

"Are you alright?" Carol asks, seeing John staring into space.  
"Huh? Uh, yeah I just..." He sighs. "I don't know. I just feel...empty." He's perplexed by the feelings.

His mother rubs his back. "You will get through this."

He dozes off for a few moments then wakes suddenly in a panic. "LADY!"

"It's alright; you just had a bad dream." Carol assures.

"No. No! Something's wrong with her." He scrambles for his phone and dials her number. "Beautiful, pick up _please_."

Due to a power outage at the theater, Chris is heading home early. He's almost there when his phone rings. "Hello?"

"Chris, it's John! Where's Lady?"

"At home, why?"

"I just tried her phone and there's no answer. Something's wrong." John panics.

Chris feels a sense of dread. "I'm pulling into the driveway now, hold on."

John listens as Chris calls for Lady.

Not seeing her in the living room or kitchen he heads upstairs to her room. "Lady?" He opens the door to an empty room. He heads back downstairs. He stares at the backdoor. It was cold out but maybe... He heads toward the door.

With a racing heart John hears Chris's footsteps, a door opening and Chris exclaiming, "Oh gawd no!"


	49. Chapter 49

A/N: I appreciate all the folks adding me to their fave stories list but I would really appreciate it if you would post feedback on here. Thanks. :-)

"Chris, what's going on?!" John yells into the phone. Suddenly he's disconnected. "Chris?!"

Chris drops the phone to the ground as he stares at the woman submerged in the hot tub. "Lady?" He climbs over into the warm water and lifts her up. "Oh gawd, what did you do?" he whimpers. He lies her on the porch and brushes her wet hair away from her face. He tilts back her head, pinches her nose and covers her mouth with his own. He gives her two breaths then checks for a pulse. He's relieved to find one and gives her another breath. "Come on breathe." Another breath. "Dammit Lady!" He gives her get another breath, this time she gasps. "That a girl." He rolls her onto her side as she coughs up water.

Dazed at first, Lady becomes hysterical realizing she's been rescued. "No!" She gets up to her knees and attempts to climb back in the hot tub.

"What are you doing?!" asks a shocked Chris. Lady tries to climb over the side of the tub. "Lady stop!" He grabs her.

She screams! "Let me go! I have to!"

"No you don't!" he insists.

She struggles in his grasp. "I have to stop hurting everyone!" she proclaims, while unintentionally digging her nails into his arms and ripping his skin.

He yells in pain. "Lady stop it!" He forces her onto her back and leans over her. She stops struggling and stares vacantly. "Lady?" he quips softly. He gets no response. He lifts her and carries her inside.

John tries tirelessly to contact Chris again. "She has to be okay." he murmurs.

"I'm sure he will call back." his father tries to calm him.

Suddenly the phone rings. "Hello?" John answers.

"John, it's Chris."

"What's going on?"

"Just get to the hospital and I'll explain there."  
"Is she okay?"

Chris watches as Lady's loaded into the ambulance he called for. "Physically...I think so. Just meet me at the hospital." He hangs up the phone.

"Are the restraints really necessary?" Chris asks the doctor.

"It's standard procedure." the man replies." She tried to harm herself and harmed you when you saved her."

Chris sighs and glances at his bandaged arms, then at Lady as she stirs.

She attempts to open her eyes but is too fatigued. "John?" she whimpers.

Chris strokes her hair. "No Sweetie, it's Chris."

"John?"

"He's on his way." Chris assures.

"Tox screen is back, doctor." states a nurse.

The doctor reads. "Cyclobenzaprine level is slightly higher than her prescribed dose. It's not enough for an overdose but explains why she was able to hold herself under water."

"What?" a voice booms. The doctor and Chris turn to see John. "What the hell are you talking about?" he asks.

"John..." Chris moves toward him. "She tried to kill herself. I found her in the hot tub."

John is numbed by the news. "No. She just slipped under cause of her meds. She probably forgot and took more than she meant to. Ya know she always tries to remind someone when she takes it in case she forgets."

"John, she fought me when I revived her." Chris shows John his arms. "She tried to get back in the hot tub. I've called Shawn. He's going to talk to her mother."

John slowly absorbs the information then walks over to Lady. He looks at her wrists and attempts to loosen one of the restraints. "I'm sorry you can't do that." informs the doctor.

John sighs and takes a hold her hand then leans down and whispers, "Beautiful, can you hear me?"

She slowly opens her eyes. "Cena?" she replies softly.

"Yeah I'm here." he assures.

"I'm sorry." she whimpers.

"Shh. It's alright. Everything's gonna be okay?" his voice cracks. He softly kisses her lips as she drifts back off to sleep. Still in shock John murmurs, "I don't understand."

With hurt in his voice, Chris responds, "I should have insisted she go with me tonight. I knew she was having problems, but I never saw this coming."

The men turn when they hear someone entering the cubicle. "What are _you _doing here?" John asks angrily.

"I was called for a psych consult." replies Doc Walt.

"No! Anyone but you!" John argues.

"What's wrong?" Chris asks.

"This is the quack that let Nate of the hook!"

"Mr. Cena I'm here to help." Doc Walt insists.

"Stay away from her!" John demands.

A sudden realization hits Chris. "John!" He places a firm hand on his shoulder.

"What?" John snaps.

"I don't think this is a coincidence." Chris proclaims.

"What are you talking about?" John asks.  
"Just let him talk to the other doctor. We can talk in the hall." Chris beseeches. Reluctantly John agrees. Once in the hallway Chris explains, "I think there's a reason Lady and Nate ended up with the same psychiatrist."

"How can you say that? I can't think of a reason for any of this." John proclaims.

Chris sighs. "I'm just trying to make sense of all this nonsense. She keeps insisting that Nate didn't mean to hurt you... And I know she didn't mean to hurt me."

"Stop!" John glares at him. "You can't compare some scratches on your arms to a knife in my chest."

"Yes what Nate did to you was worse. But if Lady snapped tonight isn't it possible that Nate snapped?"

John just closes his eyes and tries to wrap his mind around the situation. He was torn between his anger toward Nate and his love for Lady.

"There's something about Nate that Lady won't tell." Chris continues.

"What do you mean?" John inquires.

"She said it might help you understand but she can't tell. She can't betray his trust."

John doesn't have time to absorb the information before Lady is wheeled out of the cubicle. "Where are you taking her? he asks.

"Upstairs to the psych ward." Doc Walt replies.

"No! Nate's there!" John nearly panics.

"I assure you, Mr. Cena they won't see each other."

John looks at the woman he loves and sighs. He leans down and kisses her cheek. "I love you, Beautiful. I'll see soon."

Lady awakens the next morning and sees Shawn standing over her. "Shawn?" she asks, confused. "Where's Chris?" She then observes Doc Walt and slowly realization occurs. The numb woman looks at the restraints on her wrists as the memory of warm water floods over her. She dissolves in tears. "I can't do anything right." she sobs.


End file.
